


Good Girl

by DejectedThoughts



Series: Pagan Outlaws MC [1]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Abuse, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Americana, Bad Boys, Bikers, Drugs, Dubious Consent, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Gangs, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Motorcycles, Multiple Pairings, Objectification, POV Multiple, Past Abuse, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Violence, Prostitution, Sexual Coercion, Short Chapters, Small Towns, Tags May Change, Unhealthy Relationships, Warnings May Change, a surprising amount of plot, randomly updated
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-02-24 22:41:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 39
Words: 87,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22365676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DejectedThoughts/pseuds/DejectedThoughts
Summary: When her prostitute mother brings home a new boyfriend, Snake Eyes, the leader of the local outlaw motorcycle club, naive Tessa is introduced to their world of crime and debauchery, and is forced to endure Snake's friend Billy, aka Billy the Kid, who takes a particular interest in Tessa.It's not a romance, but there will be copious amounts of sex.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Series: Pagan Outlaws MC [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1633072
Comments: 67
Kudos: 132





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please heed the tags before subscribing.
> 
> Also, please note that this is a story involving criminals and criminal activity, some of which may be disconcerting to readers, so this is not for the faint of heart. It is an attempt at realism. There is no romanticizing of bikers or bikers gangs in this work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Face Claims:
> 
> [Tessa Middleton](https://66.media.tumblr.com/8d6efd532048fc5426ccfddc2cbcd23b/f8700ccbbd51bbb6-5c/s1280x1920/4268eab9cdce5121fad00e2d74451c1358d82f80.jpg)
> 
> [Roxanne Middleton](https://66.media.tumblr.com/7110f867bfe5c3c6ffdbb02abfb42e50/f8700ccbbd51bbb6-c2/s1280x1920/31688c6bf1178f679f3e6b45b128b817165e5a33.jpg)
> 
> [Snake Eyes](https://66.media.tumblr.com/8ebedd32da11c09e4f260957f3650723/f8700ccbbd51bbb6-e0/s640x960/e1749d26913488609cb7edb458d189b29128de6d.jpg)
> 
> [Billy The Kid](https://66.media.tumblr.com/36ada1d58444d203471d453749f08c3c/f8700ccbbd51bbb6-ae/s1280x1920/7a1f42663cbc47c4cfb8d461725777bc908513ae.jpg)

Tessa was a good girl. Not one of the brightest, but certainly one of the nicest. Didn't have any tattoos, and the only piercings she had were one in each ear. Two little diamonds that sparkled. Took care of herself, best she could, and thrived, despite her mother's failures as a parent, and there were many. Roxanne was only fifteen when she had her daughter, and being a young single parent was tough. She wasn't ready to grow up and face the responsibilities of parenthood, and often pawned off Tessa on her parents as a small child.

Roxanne was everything Tessa wasn't. Obnoxiously loud, with a filthy mouth and even filthier mind, and being only 35 still meant she always wore tight clothing showing off various body parts, wore lots of dark make-up, and behaved as if she were still in her twenties. She was always going to bars and nightclubs, hooking up with a different man almost every other night, and it seemed from Tessa's perspective that her mother just couldn't let go of her youth. Couldn't let herself grow old and settle down. She was compensating for all the years she lost having to raise a child instead of partying with her friends.

Tessa pitied her mother most days, and also pitied the men she brought home most nights. She still lived with her mother, because Roxanne couldn't afford that house by herself, and Tessa worried what would happen to her if she were evicted. She should be in college by now, but she would be so far away from home and leaving Roxanne with no one to look after her. So she stayed and helped pay the bills by working at a gas station nearby. It was easy work, running a register, restocking the shelves and sweeping the floors. Occasionally she'd get hassle from a customer, but most days were blessedly slow and quiet.

She'd come home almost every night to an empty house, knowing Roxanne was probably out at some bar, hitting on the customers for free drinks. Then, around two or three in the morning she'd hear Roxanne stumbling in with a stranger on her arm that she felt like taking home. Tessa would plug in her headphones and listen to music to drown out the sounds of them having sex in the next room. Roxanne would sometimes bartend at a place called the Cornerstone, but more often than not, steady cash flow came from the men she brought home with her.

Tessa was sworn to secrecy when she first found out her mother was a prostitute. She knew it was illegal, and it was immoral, but having never finished high school meant it was hard for Roxanne to find steady work, much less anything that paid well, so sometimes doing favors for the gentlemen she met was what paid the rent when nights at the Cornerstone were slow. She prided herself for her resourcefulness and said, "Hell, it beats doin' it for free and just lookin' like a slut with nothin' to show for herself." Told Tessa she should be grateful for the money, then told her to keep her mouth shut.

Tessa never said a word. She had many reasons for never commenting on her mother's nightly activities. Partly because she loved her mother, despite her faults, but mainly because of her good nature. She just didn't have it in her to be spiteful, or ungrateful in any way. Some would say she was too nice, too kind, and her friends would advise she grow a spine instead of letting Roxanne walk all over her, but she just didn't have the heart to speak up or say anything against her. She didn't want Roxanne to go to jail, so she kept her head down and went along with whatever her schemes.

But she didn't know just how disreputable her mother truly was until she first brought home Snake. 

The name was fitting, because he always had a shifty look in those narrow eyes of his. Like he was plotting something, silently waiting, poised and ready to strike. He was in his mid to late forties, sported shaggy dark hair and a scraggly beard. Smelled strongly of marijuana and cigarette smoke. He wore ripped up jeans with black leather boots, and a denim vest draped over his muscle shirt. The vest had an unmistakable symbol on it. The symbol of the Pagans, a motorcycle club that could always be seen hanging around at one of the local bars. Tessa had never met any personally, but she recognized it from newspaper clippings of criminal arrests.

She met him one morning when she came down stairs to make breakfast, and there he was on the couch with Roxanne, smoking a cigarette, arm thrown over her like she was his property. He was chuckling about something when she walked in the room. Roxanne introduced him as her 'new boyfriend'. This didn't sit well with Tessa and made her stomach clench in fear. A boyfriend meant something permanent. It meant this wasn't just a one night stand. Snake was there to stay. As Roxanne spoke, he gave Tessa an unsettling look that made her heart race and her palms sweat.

Snake was permanent.

And Snake would be 'taking care' of them from now on.


	2. Chapter 2

"He's a criminal, momma," she whispered in the kitchen after meeting Snake. Roxanne snorted at that, then reached into the refrigerator for the carton of eggs on the middle shelf, then set them on the counter nearby. "He's a bad man," Tessa added, but Roxanne ignored it in favor of pulling more food out of the fridge and handing it to Tessa, then turned and started a pot of coffee brewing. 

"Ima tell ya somethin', baby girl," she said to her daughter as she poured coffee grounds into the filter, then placed it in the pot. "Somethin' you gotta understand about this world: There ain't no such thing as a good man. They don't exist. Even them ones that say they're good men? They're all lyin' to ya. Every last one of 'em. Ain't none of 'em are worth a damn. And ain't no good man ever gonna come sweep me off my feet, marry me and move me into some big fancy house, and take care o' me and my little girl. Never gonna happen." She finished prepping the coffee pot and pressed the start button.

She turned to look at Tessa and added, "Now Snake? He ain't a good man either, you're right about that, but he'll take care of us, real good care of us, and ain't neither of us'll want for anything long as he's around."

Tessa's hands shook as she peeled strips of bacon off the bulk of them in their plastic bag and tossed them in the skillet. 

She really didn't like the implications of Roxanne's statement. It was true, that they were hurting for cash at the moment, because neither her hours at the convenience store nor her mother's nights bartending or servicing men were doing enough to keep them afloat. They were barely making ends meet. But what would a guy like Snake demand in return for his generosity? Would he be satisfied with the occasional back rub or blow job from Roxanne? Or would he turn his sights to Tessa next? Or maybe pimp her out to one of his friends? Just what sort of expectations did a man like Snake have of both of them?

Tessa's heart raced madly when she thought about it.

She flipped the bacon in the pan.

"Momma," she murmered, "Momma I can get a better job. We don't need him around."

"Like hell we don't," she grunted. Then she spoke just a little louder, not loud enough for Snake to overhear from the living room, but loud enough for Tessa to get the point, her tone laced with a growl. "And where the hell you gonna find work huh? Your dumb ass was lucky enough to get the job ya got now." Tessa said nothing to that. Roxanne was always saying little things like that. About how dumb she was, or useless. That was just her nature. Tessa was used to it by now. "Ain't like you'll get a man either, not with that pea sized brain o' yours. So you just keep your mouth shut an' leave all the decision makin' to me. Got it?"

Tessa mutely nodded. She wouldn't question her mother. If Roxanne thought this was best for them, then it had to be. But if Snake came anywhere near her, they would have words again. Tessa would not tolerate her mother's boyfriend putting his slimy hands on her. She'd leave if she had to. She didn't like the idea of leaving Roxanne, and it wasn't like she had anywhere to go, but if she absolutely had to, she'd find a way. Maybe stay with one of her handful of friends. She watched her mother sit down at the kitchen table and light up a cigarette. "I gotta get ready for work soon," she commented, and Tessa nodded.

"You're dropping Snake off somewhere on the way?"

"Nah, he brought his bike," she said. "Reckon he'll leave when he feels like it." Tessa swallowed in nervousness at that. "You just be quiet and make him some breakfast. And don't you be rude to the man either." When Tessa didn't respond right away, Roxanne got up and walked over to her, where she stood by the stove, sliding the bacon off the skillet and onto a plate. She was just about to reach for the eggs when she felt Roxanne grab her arm and squeeze it tightly, digging her nails into Tessa's skin, making her wince. "You hear me?" she growled, and Tessa nodded. "You better be polite to him, or I'll tan your hide, you understand me?"

"Yes, momma," she dutifully responded and Roxanne let go.

"That's my good girl," she said, patting her shoulder, then walked back over to the table.

Tessa held back the tears as she cracked eggs over the hot skillet, then tossed the shells into the empty sink.

She knew her mother meant well. She was just trying to teach her good manners. She didn't mean to be so harsh, but that's just how she was. How she was raised. Tessa's grandparents had been the same. If children misbehaved, her grandpa would make them go out in the back yard and pick up a stick for him to whip them with. To teach them a lesson. Tessa wasn't a child anymore, but as long as she lived with Roxanne, she had to abide by her rules. Such rules included being nice to Snake while he was there. She could do that. Wouldn't be too difficult for a good girl like Tessa. Being nice to people was the easy part.

But whether or not Snake would be kind in turn, she'd yet to be certain.


	3. Chapter 3

Roxanne went upstairs and got ready for her shift at the Cornerstone. She wouldn't make much money bartending that early in the day, but every once in a while she'd get lucky enough to find some lonely man willing to slip her some cash in exchange for a quick hand job in the bathroom, and she had her regulars sometimes in the mornings too. Nights and weekends were better, but sometimes the only time of day they could stop in and get a little something was during the day while their wives or girlfriends were at work. 

She wouldn't need to do much of that with Snake around though. She could get all the dope she needed from him now, as long as she did whatever he asked her to. She didn't mind so much. Snake wasn't too shabby looking, and he was pretty good in the sack too. She didn't think their little arrangement could go wrong. As long as she let him come and go as he pleased, she could have all she wanted and more. She didn't like his friends too much though, but she supposed she could get used to them, if it meant getting what she needed. Long as they stayed away from Tessa.

That simpleton of a child of hers was all she had in the world, since both her parents passed away, and she didn't have them to fall back on anymore. Without their money, Tessa was the only thing keeping her afloat. They used to give them money all the time, at least a few hundred every month to help take care of Tessa, since she didn't get any child support. Hard to pin a child on a man she didn't even know, not so much as a name, much less where he ran off to. So her parents had stepped in until they died. But now it was just Roxanne, all by herself, and Tessa was all she had left.

She didn't fully trust Snake to keep his hands off her. She could see plain as day how he looked so intently at her when she first came downstairs. Could've just been surprise, because Roxanne had neglected to mention she had a daughter, but she couldn't shake the cold chill it gave her. Pagans weren't known to be the friendliest of people on their better days. Only reason Snake was so content the next morning was because Roxanne had been certain to start the morning off pleasantly, and woke him up with a blow job, that way she could be sure he'd want to stick around.

But she'd have to talk to him about Tessa. Her daughter would only take so much from a person before she cracked. She might take the abuse from Roxanne, but she wouldn't take it from a strange man coming to call on her mother. She was too pure of heart for her own damned good, and she was liable to call the police on both of them if things went too far. She thought about the whole situation all the while she reapplied her make-up, lining her eyes with dark liner and touching up her mascara. Then she pinched her lips on a square of toilet paper after applying thick dark rouge.

She slipped some overly large dangling hoops through the holes in ears, then slipped on her high heels. No one would notice if she wore the same outfit as the night before, and she was already running late, so there was no time to change. Simply run a brush through her hair before piling it up on top of her head and pinning it in place. One last check in the mirror at her appearance and she was ready for work. Looking nice and fuckable too. She smiled at herself in the mirror. Even at thirty-five years of age, she could still get twice as many men as her simple-minded daughter.

She shuffled down the steps and into the living room. Snake set down his empty plate and smirked at her like he liked what he saw. Obviously approved of Tessa's cooking too. He offered his cheek for her to kiss. She was sure to not leave behind any lipstick as evidence just in case he had an old lady to get back to, and smiled at him as she adjusted her purse on her shoulder. "You gonna be here when I get back?" she asked him and he shrugged, leaning back in his spot on the couch and lacing his fingers behind his head. "Or ya got somewhere ya gotta be?"

"Might stay awhile," he said, which was too vague of an answer, but she'd take it nonetheless. At least he didn't say he was leaving indefinitely.

She leaned her head toward the hallway and peered down it, checking to make sure Tessa was still in the kitchen, then she said, "Listen, uh, my little girl? Tessa? She's uh...well she's a nice girl, ya know? One of them good ones. She don't really, uhm, know how to take men like you. And I was just wonderin' if maybe you could...you know, just...be nice to her? You know, gentle like. Maybe not say nothin' 'bout the club neither."

He lifted a brow. "You worried about her squealin' to the cops?" he asked.

"Well..." She shrugged her shoulder a little. "She's a sweet girl, she really is, but she ain't too bright, and I dont know what she'll say, or if she might take somethin' the wrong way or...know whatta mean?"

He lifted his head in a nod, smirking again.

"Don't you worry now, momma. I'll be good to your little girl," he promised. "She'll be in the best of hands."

She didn't like the way that reassurance, said with a sinister smile, made her skin crawl, but as long as he understood that he wouldn't get away with some things with Tessa like he could with Roxanne, because she was older and more experienced, more understanding of the way the world worked, that was good enough for her. She stepped closer and leaned over him to plant one last kiss before turning to leave. "Tessa baby, I'm headed out," she called as she neared the front door. "You be good while I'm gone and you remember what I told you!"

"Yes, momma!" she called back. "Love you!"

"Love ya too, baby!" she said, then escaped through the front door without a second glance.

Then she rushed to her car, without a second thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized I'm basically writing a darkly themed alternate Gilmore Girls. O.o


	4. Chapter 4

Tessa was in the kitchen when Roxanne left. She delayed facing Snake as long as possible by cleaning up the mess she made while cooking. Now she stood and silently watched the scalding bacon grease trickle into an empty coffee can from the cast iron skillet before setting it back on the stove. She closed the lid on the can and set it on the window sill above the sink. Then she stared out the window. Their house had a nice view of a patch of woods, mostly pine trees, and Tessa knew people from the city would kill for a view like that. Tessa would kill to see literally anything else.

Finally, there was nothing left to do but go collect Snake's empty plate from the living room so she could finish up the dishes. She inhaled a few short but measured breaths to keep herself calm before slowly entering the room and edging toward the table. "You're a mighty good cook, little girl," Snake complimented, to which she nodded and tried to force a smile. Because she was nervous it came off as more of a twitch of her upper lip, so she just kept nodding as she picked up the empty plate and she mumbled a 'thank you' to go along with it. "Wontchya set that down an' come 'ere," he said and her heart raced.

"I should finish cleanin' up," she told him, starting to turn away but he stopped her again.

"It's alright," he said. "That can wait. Wontchya come sit down." He patted the empty spot on the couch next to him. "Right here. Lemme get ta know ya a little better."

She was scared to death of what might happen if she told him no, and her mother's words kept bouncing around in the back of her mind. Roxanne was right, it would be rude to deny a guest the pleasure of her company, and by all means she should sit down and get to know the man better, especially if he planned on sticking around. Wouldn't do any good for the two of them to be strangers, so she swallowed at his words, then set the plate back on the table and gingerly sat next to him on the couch. She clasped her hands together in her lap to keep them from shaking, and keep Snake from noticing her distress.

"Atta girl," he praised, when she did as told.

She peered up at him and watched as he lit a cigarette, tossed the lighter on the coffee table, then leaned back on the couch, draping one arm over the back of it. He didn't touch her, but he was far too close for her liking, and the way he stared at her made her hair stand on end. It was disturbing. A little like lust, and little bit like something akin to fondness or affection. In whatever way it was meant toward her, it was evident he liked her some way. But she wasn't sure she liked him in turn. It didn't take brains to figure out he was dangerous. She could feel it, it was instinctive.

Men like him were the sort of people girls like Tessa should stay far away from, yet here he was, on the couch next her, studying her features.

"How old are ya?" he asked her.

There was a lump in her throat, and she was worried all that would come out was a croak if she tried to speak, so she cleared it. "Twenty," she mumbled quietly.

"That old, huh?" he remarked. "Thought your momma was only thirty-somethin'."

Tessa nodded. "She was only like fifteen when she had me," she explained and he nodded slowly.

"Where's her old man at?"

"She don't have one."

"So ya ain't gotta daddy?"

"No sir. Momma had me by accident. And she don't know who he is."

"So he ain't in the picture."

"No sir."

"Hmm," he hummed. He took a drag off his cigarette, long and slow, and Tessa watched as the cherry on it lit up brightly for a moment. Then he leaned forward and flicked the ashes accumulating on the end in the tray on the table. When he sat back in his seat he resumed his pensive stare, and Tessa's heart drummed faster when reached with the hand that had been previously resting on the back of the couch, and touched her hair. Lightly, and all he did was pull a strand of it behind her ear, but she wasn't sure the touch was appropriate. She couldn't stop him though. She was frozen in terror.

She knew the kind of bad things people had to do to become full fledged members of the Pagans. 

Whatever Snake was, he was certainly not a nice man.

But he just smirked at her and said, "Ya know you're real pretty, just like your momma."

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"I like her," he commented. "Don't know why I do, 'cause the damned woman ain't nothin' but trouble, but there's just somethin' about her I suppose."

All the while he spoke, he pet her hair lightly, watching it slide through his fingers, and all Tessa could do was nod, then squeeze her hands togther until they were white-knuckled in her lap. He spoke softly, like she was a small animal he didn't want to scare away, but that's what scared her the most. Loud men were predictable. All of her mother's flings were usually loud obnoxious men that might flirt with her or make dirty comments about her, like saying they'd like to have a threesome with the two of them, but they were almost always blowing smoke. 

They were like dogs. They just barked a lot. They hardly ever bit. But Snake on the other hand was quiet, and this churned her stomach and gave her the most gut wrenching feeling. She tightened her abdomen when his fingers accidently grazed her ear. "I think Ima stick around for a while," he said, his eyes meeting hers. "See how this works out. You gonna be alright with that?" She didn't think she would be, but she forced herself to nod. He smiled at her. "Good. That's real good. Wouldn't wanna upset Roxy's little girl, now would we? Can't have her runnin' off an' tellin' people things about us that they shouldn't be knowin'." 

Her lip started to tremble, because there was just something about his voice that deeply unsettled her, and all the stress of it made her feel like she was going to cry. She desperately tried to hold it in. She didn't want Snake knowing how deeply afraid of him she was, and having that kind of power over her. But he probably sensed it anyway. Men like him always seemed to pick up on that kind of thing, and right now Snake was using that to his advantage. That she couldn't move, could barely speak, and was absolutely terrified of what might happen if she pissed him off, so she didn't even argue.

"You can even call me Daddy if ya want to," he added and her lip twitched.

"Like a real one?...or like...like the other kind?"

He chuckled at what she implied.

"Like a real one," he assured her, and at that, something inside of her uncoiled. Just a small part. Just enough to make her able to draw a full breath again. He pulled away after he said that and flicked the ashes off his cigarette again, then took a long drag. "I'll leave ya alone now," he said. "Let ya get back to what you was doin'."

"Okay," she said and numbly rose from the couch. 

He watched her every move as she picked his plate back up and carried it off to the kitchen. She wanted to be quiet about it, so she ran water in the sink for far longer than truly necessary to cover up the sounds of her sniffling. When she was finished, she hid upstairs in her room until she heard the distinct sound of a Harley being started, and the engine being revved, meaning Snake was leaving for a little while, to take care of whatever business he had to. She wasn't sure how to feel about having him around, being involved with her mother, being a part of her life.

But the silver lining was that he didn't try to fuck her at least.


	5. Chapter 5

The minute Roxanne clocked in and slipped behind the bar, she toed out of her heels and slid them under the counter. She knew better than to try to work all day in heels. She'd learned her lesson in less than a week of working at Cornerstone, after the first few nights of trying to wait on customers and mix drinks with aching feet. So she didn't bother anymore. Wasn't like anyone could see her feet. She'd slip them back on to go to the bathroom and service a gentleman, but the rest of the time she was barefoot.

When the manager shut himself in his office in the back, she snuck a shot of whiskey and got to working, minding the bar. It was empty at the moment, but sooner or later someone was bound to wander in, so she kept her eyes on the door as she leaned up against the counter. She was already going through withdrawal, even though Snake cooked her up some stuff just that morning. But it wasn't enough, and Roxanne needed more of it. She wasn't used to sharing a needle, used to having a whole hit all to herself, so she didn't get as much as she usually did. But what she did get was good, pure, high dollar heroin.

The kind of stuff most would kill for, and Snake promised her more when her shift let off.

So she suffered through the ache until eleven o'clock when Randy Stottelmyer wandered in from off the street with a fifty dollar bill burning a hole in his pocket. He was one of Roxanne's regulars. For half a second she wondered if Snake would mind all that much if she kept seeing customers, or if he expected her to quit giving it up to other men, and he did promise to take care of her from now on, but then she shook the thought. She wasn't Snake's old lady yet, so it wasn't like he owned her, was just looking after her for the time being, so she didn't think it would be any of his business what she did.

Not like she really cared what he did either.

For the moment, he was a means to an end.

She could use that fifty dollars Randy flashed at her, so she hollered loudly that she was taking a bathroom break, and dragged Randy back to the ladies room. She never used the mens room. If her manager, George, ever decided the take a piss, he'd catch on real quick to what she was up to and fire her that instant. So she lead Randy by the hand to the ladies room instead and ushered him into a stall. She slid the lock in place behind them and watched him slap the lid down on the toilet and sit, unbuckling his belt, then opening his fly.

She used to get this sick feeling in her gut whenever she'd fuck a stranger, but not hardly anymore these days, and Randy wasn't so much of a stranger by now. He came in quite often, and they'd been doing this for quite a while now, so her eleven o' clock was old hat to her. She knew everything about him, knew just what he liked, and how to get him off in a pinch. He was older, had been married for some years, but Leanne wouldn't give it up anymore. She'd hit menopause, and just didn't feel the urge to fuck all the time like she used to.

So he'd come see Roxanne instead, to get what he'd coined 'the best pair o' lips in the whole damned county', which was sweet of him to say. She got down on her knees in front of him as he opened his pants and helped him get them over his hips, then pulled them down past his knees. Then she shot him a wicked grin and a wink as she tugged down his boxers. Made him blush and smile back every time. He wasn't hard yet, but she didn't make a fuss about it, and leaned forward lick up and down his cock and ball sack until he twitched to life.

His wife hated the fact that he had trouble getting it up nowadays, on the rare occasion she'd spread her legs for him. If he wasn't already up when she unbuttoned her nightgown, she'd complain about it. She kept pestering him to see a doctor about it, but Roxanne didn't say a word. It was just a natural part of age for men. Wasn't anything to fuss about, but Leanne would harp on how he wasn't attracted to her anymore, which somehow meant he didn't love her, and shot down any confidence the poor man had left.

He was such a sweet man too. Entirely too good for that witch of a woman, and he'd just take all her bitching without a word said. Roxanne didn't think Leanne really deserved him, and the first time he found he had trouble getting a hard-on Roxanne had only made the comment of, "You just can't get it up for her 'cause you miss these lips right here, baby," and that made him smile. She never complained either. Just licked him up and down and sucked on the tip a little until he got hard. He was sweet to her too, would gently stroke her hair sometimes, quietly mumur how good she felt.

He played with her tits a little after she sunk her mouth down on his erection and slowly bobbed up and down. He was one of those romantic men, that liked it soft and slow. Was always trying to be romantic to Leanne and take her out to dinner and movies too. One of Roxanne's betters. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander as she swirled her tongue around the tip every time she reached it, making him gasp a little and suck in a breath. Pretty soon those breaths were labored, and his fist tightened a little in her hair. Not enough to hurt, but enough to let her know he was getting close.

She picked up the pace, adding her hand to glide up and down his shaft in tandem with her mouth and he let out a soft groan. "Goddamn, Roxy, that feels so good," he moaned. "So good, baby, so good." She let out a moan around him, just for extra measure, and he bucked a little, wanting so badly to fuck her mouth, but he never did. Always let her do it how she wanted, let her be in control. She opened her throat and sunk deeply on him a few times until his whole body shook. Only when he murmured, "Fuck I think I'm gonna come," did she pull off and finish him with her hand, stroking him through his orgasm.

Then she sat back and fixed her hair back in place while he cleaned himself up with a wad of toilet paper. She rose to her feet and unlocked the door, then walked over to the mirror to check that her make-up hadn't smeared. Once she reapplied her lipstick, she'd look just fine. Behind her Randy flushed the evidence down the toilet and pulled his pants back up. Then he came out of the stall and pecked her cheek with an appreciative kiss before straightening his tie in the mirror. "Damn," he sighed. "Head like that is worth a whole helluva lot more than fifty dollars," he complimented.

Roxanne chuckled. "Well if it's worth more, maybe you outta be payin' me more. Might readjust my rates."

Randy pinched his lips together to suppress a grin. "Shoulda just kept my mouth shut, huh," he said, and she snickered at him. She liked Randy.

"Don't you worry, baby, I gotchya," she assured him. "I ain't gonna up the rate on a sweet man like you. And any time you get tired of that woman, you know you can come see me."

"Oh I will," he nodded, chuckling. "Maybe one of these days I'll finally leave her and just come and take you away with me. Make an honest woman of ya."

All she could do was laugh at that. She never took his offers to leave Leanne for her seriously. What she wouldn't give to have a sweet man like Randy taking care of her, but sadly it wasn't meant to be. It was just talk. Just the way he always was whenever he'd come see her. He was just smitten with her because she gave good head. Besides, she had Snake now. She didn't need a man like Randy. Snake would do just fine. "Oh you don't wanna marry a girl like me," she told Randy, fixing her blouse in the mirror as it had gotten wrinkled. Randy turned to look at her.

"And what if I did?" he asked, sounding kind of serious this time.

She gave him a bittersweet smile, and said, "Girls like me ain't nothin' but trouble, baby."

Sadly, it was true.


	6. Chapter 6

While Roxanne was working, Snake attended the club meeting held that afternoon. He pulled up in front of the bar out on the highway, shut off his bike, and strolled in, rubbing the kink in his neck from where he must've slept wrong in Roxy's bed. He was a little early, but he wasn't the first to arrive. When he walked in, he saw Liz behind the bar, wiping down the counter with a rag, and occupying two of the bar stools were two other members, Nyx, and right next to him sat Billy. Aka, Billy the Kid, and Snake's closest friend.

He'd known Billy Davenport damned near his whole life. They were like brothers long before either of them were ever involved in club business. One of the few men Snake never doubted, never had to question of his motives or wonder where his loyalty truly lie. He always put the club first, above all other things, and moreover, he trusted Snake to run it. One of the reasons he'd elected Billy as Vice President once handed the reins. Because he was an honest man, one of the few he could count on, and at present greeted Snake with a shit eating grin when he saw him walk through the door. 

"Hey brother," he said, getting up from his stool and slapping Snake with a fierce hug.

"What's goin' on, man," he said in turn, clapping him on the back, then turning to shake Nyx's hand as well, before he seated himself at the bar and snatched up the ice cold beer Liz set in front of him. He tipped it to her in salute then took a drink. Billy settled back down beside him, between Snake and Nyx. Everybody called him Billy the Kid, after the famous outlaw, but in truth he wasn't a kid anymore. Far from it really. Billy was closer to Snake in age, they were only maybe a few years apart, and Billy also sported just a few spots of gray in his beard when he let it grow, though his head was still the same muddy color throughout.

They spent several minutes knocking back Budweisers and shooting the breeze, letting their cigarettes burn down to the filter, when finally the rest of the gang showed up. When everyone was present, Nyx leaned over the counter and said, "Baby, wontchya wait outside," to which Liz nodded. "And lock the door behind ya." Liz pulled her keys from her pocket then stepped around the counter without a word and slipped out the front door. Only when they heard the deadbolt slide in place did they get down to business and start discussing club affairs.

There wasn't much to mention, it had been a nice, easy week, with little to no problems whatsoever. Everything ran just as smooth as can be, so the official part of the meeting didn't last long, and the rest of the time the boys just hung around, joking and laughing up a storm, talking shit. Snake always got this sinking feeling whenever they had good days like today, like he was gazing into the eye of the storm before shit would inevitably hit the fan and it all went to complete hell in a handbasket right before their eyes.

But he was alright today. He'd loaded up on smack that morning with Roxy, then smoked a joint after she gave him some of the best head he'd ever had in his life, and that, added to the ice cold beer he guzzled down, put him fairly at ease. He was so high and out of his mind he almost couldn't pay attention during proceedings. "Somebody's in a good mood today," Billy commented as they were leaving and headed back to their bikes. Snake watched him straddle the seat of his Indian and stuff the key in the switch with a smile.

Snake chuckled. "Reckon I am I suppose," he said. He lit up a cigarette. "Went back to Roxy's place last night," he added by way of explanation, then watched Billy cheerful grin slowly fade. "Think I'm gonna stick with her for a while. Look after her."

"Oh hell," Billy groaned, making Snake roll his eyes a little. "Goddamn it, Snake Eyes," he sighed. 

Snake just nodded a little a puffed on his cigarette.

Billy didn't exactly approve of Roxanne Middleton. Wasn't hard to understand why. The woman would spread her legs for just about anyone that offered. She wasn't picky about clientele. That never bothered the likes of them when she was just hanging around the bars and trading hand jobs in the bathroom for quick cash, but it was entirely different for one of them to be involved on a regular basis with her. Roxanne had a mouth on her, and while she had many a good use for it, she also liked to talk with it, and one wrong word to the right person could fuck over a lot of people.

About four or five years ago, she'd pissed of a lot of members' old ladies, running her mouth and bragging about how she fucked them good, and got herself in a lot of trouble with some of the wives and girlfriends of customers because she liked to spread gossip. The old President didn't want her involved with any of the members for that very reason, and warned people to stay away from her, keep her out of club affairs. No Pagan was to get involved with Roxanne Middleton and the President's word was law. But that hardly mattered now that he was serving three life sentences and left the running of the club to Snake in his absence.

Now that Snake was handed the reins, he had the freedom to do whatever the hell he wanted, long as he wasn't breaking any codes and kept business running smoothly. He didn't plan on involving Roxy in club business anyway, but was fairly certain he could keep her in line if he ever brought her around any of the other members or their families. Throw a little smack her way and she'd do whatever he asked. If necessary, he'd use more forceful means of keeping her mouth shut tight, only unless it was wrapped around his dick.

But Billy looked like he had concerns, evident when he held up a hand and said, "Look, man, I don't mean to speak outta line, but...Goddamn man, what the hell are you thinkin' messin' around with the likes of her?"

Snake just sighed, then flicked the ashes off his cigarette with a shrug. He didn't take any kind of offense to the question. He knew Billy meant well. Plus he was right, Roxanne was trouble waiting to happen. He didn't even know why he was so smitten with her, but there was just something about her. The sex was phenomenal too, but it was more than that. Something about Roxanne Middleton that roped him in, that only Roxy had and no other woman could offer. He couldn't lie, he'd always been a bit obsessed with her, and now she was his to do with as he pleased. He had to admit he was fairly content with that arrangement. 

"Cause it beats wackin' off to porn," he told Billy with a chuckle, to which he let out a snort in response. It was bullshit and he knew it. Snake could have any woman he wanted. But for some inexplicable reason he wanted Roxanne of all people.

"You're fuckin' crazy," Billy chortled, and Snake nodded.

"Hell, I might be." He took one last drag off his cigarette before flicking it across the parking lot and watching it land on a parking bumper and bounce off, then roll across the asphalt. "Her daughter's nice though."

"She gotta daughter?" Billy asked, perking up in blatant curiosity. "Tryna fuck her too or somethin'?"

"Nah," Snake shook his head. "Ain't like that. But I kinda like her though. Her name's Tessa. She's a sweet kid. One of them good ones. Pretty too."

"Bet she is," Billy quipped. 

Snake straddled his Harley and reached for his helmet. 

"Tell ya what," he said as he strapped it on. "Wontchya follow me out to the house, hang out an' burn one with me, and I'll introduce ya. I think you'll really like her too."

Billy considered that for a split second, before he nodded and strapped on his helmet. 

Snake could see his eyes light up a little at the prospect of meeting a sweet little thing like Tessa Middleton. 

They started up their bikes and pulled out of the now empty parking lot, then peeled onto the highway, Billy following just a few staggered paces behind.


	7. Chapter 7

Billy had learned how to ride long before he'd even learned how to walk. He didn't remember it, but his dad told him he'd first had him in his lap atop a motorcycle as young as six months old. Freaked his mother out, thinking he'd fall off of it and get injured, when Billy Sr rode around town with little Billy strapped to the back rest of his bike. But he loved it though. He knew from the very first time he'd been given his own street bike, first straddled it, turned the key and adjusted the choke, that he was born to ride.

He didn't aspire to become a member of the Pagans until much later in life though, and really only at his friend's suggestion. But once Snake got involved with them, it only seemed natural that Billy would be a prospect too. But after earning his membership, he realized he was meant for that as well. Working for the Pagans and earning his due was really the only thing that made sense in his choatic world. It was really the only thing he knew how to do well, and he really couldn't imagine a life where he was some ass kissing white collared accountant. 

It didn't even make sense in Billy's mind.

He lived to ride, and he'd sooner die living the life he lived now, than live one single day as someone else.

But he had been getting kind of bored lately. Waking up to the same damn thing day in and day out. Kind of wanted something new. Or maybe somebody new. Somebody to wake up every morning next to. Somebody to settle down with. He hooked up with woman all the time, but they were all the same. They were all easy too. There was never a chase, and in truth it was fucking boring as hell. He humored Snake and followed him out to Roxy's house more or less out of some innate curiosity, and the desire to kick back and smoke a joint, but he was also kind of interested in this Tessa he spoke of. She might be kind of fun.

Even if he didn't get in her pants, he still liked the chase.

Snake led them outside city limits and rode for about thirty minutes or so on a two lane highway before he finally turned off on a gravel road next. They followed it for about another five minutes, sure to take it nice and slow so they didn't kick up gravel and scratch their paint, before the road eventualy split. By this point, they were surrounded by woods, and houses were few and far between. Billy could see the appeal in holing up in a secluded place like this. It would take the cops a while to get out there, and Billy doubted anyone would even call them if they heard shots fired.

Nearly everyone in the county owned guns, and even if the neighbors heard a few rounds they'd probably just assume someone was just target practicing or something. He followed Snake down the road on the left hand side and pulled up next to him in front of an old two story house. Didn't appear to be in bad shape. The yard was picked up, but the grass needed to be mowed. The porch had some boxes and plastic tubs stacked in the corner for some reason, but he didn't know why, and didn't care enough to even ask.

It was sweltering hot out, and that tin roof looked like it was probably a thousand degrees under the blazing heat of the afternoon sun. He shut off his bike and tore off his helmet, hanging it by the strap over the handlebar, then followed Snake up to the porch. He banged loudly on the door a few times, then they waited, hands in their pockets, for someone to answer. "One thing I wanna ask of ya," Snake requested as they waited, and Billy nodded. "Just be polite to her. And don't be loud or nothin' either. She's a sweet girl, but she's just a bit skittish."

Billy suppressed an indignant snort at that, merely nodded and said, "Okay then."

He highly doubted any product of Roxanne Middleton could ever be sweet, but now he was way too curious, and almost held his breath as quiet footfall could be heard nearing the entrance of the house, then a tiny figure slowly opened the door. Now he could see why Snake took a liking to her. Any man would develop a bit of a soft spot for the likes of Tessa Middleton. Kind of on the petite side, and gazed up at them both with big doe eyes, like a deer caught in the headlights of somebody's truck. She was barefoot, wearing a tight little shirt matched with a pair of shorts that clung to her, and every inch of her looked soft as butter.

Snake was right to call her pretty. She was deserving of the title. She wasn't a knock out or anything, but she had curves in all the right places, and nice pair of tits nestled snugly in that bra of hers. But they were only the second thing he'd laid eyes on. Unbelievably, the first thing had been her face, because she looked startled for a moment or so, like they'd come to hold her at gun point and rob her blind. Skittish, Snake had said. Yeah, that word fit her perfectly. But she had a pretty little mouth though, and just like the rest of her, it looked soft and sweet, and like it would feel fucking incredible wrapped around his dick.

Billy hoped to hell she was over eighteen, because she most definitely looked like jailbait. He wouldn't want a repeat of what happened with Candice, who lied and said she was eighteen, but it turned out she was really only sixteen, and damned near got his ass thrown in jail for fucking around with her. "Hey, little girl," Snake greeted Tessa and she gave a tentative smile, then opened the door wider to let both of them in. She stared at Billy mostly as they wandered into the living room. Snake flopped down on the recliner, so Billy sat down on the couch nearby, propping his boots on the coffee table with little remorse.

"Billy, this is Tessa. Tessa, this is my friend Billy," Snake introduced them both, and she gave another flash of a hesitant smile. She made Billy think of a rabbit just then, the way she wrung her hands and shifted from foot to foot, almost like she had to go to the bathroom, because she was so nervous. It was kind of cute, the way she looked. It was evident she didn't know how to take men like them, and seemed obvious that Roxanne kept her daughter far away from all the bullshit she was wrapped up in. A sheltered child, who'd probably never even held a gun before.

"It's nice to meet ya, Billy," she told him, and he smiled.

"Oh it's definitely likewise," he said as he gave her another once over with his eyes. 

She blushed a little under his gaze and fidgeted, like she didn't know how to take the compliment, and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"There's some cold beer in the fridge," she said. "You boys want one?"

"Yeah I'll take one," Snake told her and Billy shrugged.

"Yeah I'll take one too."

"Alright then. I'll be just a minute."

She smiled again and scurried off to the kitchen to play hostess and bring them each a beer. Billy took the moment to turn and look at Snake, not bothering to hide his shock. He slid his boots off the table to lean forward in his spot and prop his elbows on his knees. "That's Roxy's little girl?" he hissed, in complete disbelief that something so sweet and angelic could've ever popped out of the loud mouthed heathen of a woman that was Roxanne Middleton, and Snake chuckled a little. Then he nodded at Billy's words, lacing his fingers behind his head.

"Yep," he said, and Billy quietly whistled. 

"Goddamn," he cursed. "She anythin' like her momma?"

"Not so far as I can tell," Snake shrugged.

Billy turned his head to listen as Tessa popped the caps off a couple of bottles and tossed the tin in a trash can.

Not anything like Roxanne, huh?

She might just be Billy's type then.


	8. Chapter 8

"It's hot as blue blazes in here, baby girl," Billy complained after Tessa handed him his beer and he touched it to his neck to cool himself off.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "Momma ain't got no air conditionin'."

"Eh, just as well," he shrugged. "If it got cold in here you'd just go put more clothes on."

Snake smirked from where he lounged on the recliner, but nudged Billy's knee with his boot and said, "Behave now, Billy."

"Oh that's quite alright," she said to them both, forcing a smile. It wasn't, and she wished he didn't drool over her like a hungry dog, but she wasn't about to be a snob to one of Snake's friends. Her mother raised her better than that. She was not raised to think she was too good for somebody, and if Billy thought she was attractive, she'd take his comments in stride. Not only that, but Roxanne wanted Snake to stick around, which unfortunately meant his friends would be around too, so she wasn't about to be rude to the man.

She handed Snake his beer next, but she couldn't take her eyes off Billy. He looked to be close in age to Snake, but maybe just a few years younger and he was...well, different was all she could really think to say. Different than Snake in demeanor. Not quite as cold and ruthless. He had a smile on his face that made her think of the Cheshire cat whenever he looked her over, and while he certainly leered at her, he didn't seem quite as threatening as Snake. He just seemed like he had somewhat of a thing for her, and would most definitely fuck her if had the chance.

He wasn't too bad looking for his age. He'd held it well. Didn't have hardly any gray, and appeared to be relatively physically fit. Both arms were covered in tattoos of various design, though most were covered up by the shirt he wore, but just like Snake, his hair was long and he had a bit of beard growing in, though his was more of a ruddy brown in color. Wore a red bandana on his head that looked like it hadn't come off in quite some time, maybe several years. On top of the bandana rested a pair of sunglasses that he obviously wore when he was riding his bike.

But none of this was to say he was any nicer than Snake. Tessa wasn't stupid. Billy was a Pagan too, which meant he was just as dangerous.

Though when he leaned forward again, and she spotted the pistol holstered under his arm beneath his vest, she lost all manner of like for Billy completely.

Her practiced smile faltered on her face at the sight of it, but she tried to hide her discomfort with a few passable nods, and said, shakily, "Ima head on back upstairs-"

"Oh come on now, wontchya stay an' have a beer with us," said Billy with a pleading look. 

"I ain't old enough to drink," she said.

She watched Billy shoot Snake this look, lifting a brow, and he said with a chuckle, "Ya weren't lyin' were ya?" 

"Nah," Snake said, with a slow shake of the head. "Tessa don't do that kind of shit. Tessa's a good girl, aintchya baby?"

She fidgeted for a second at those words, and the way they were spoken.

"I-I don't mean to be rude, but-"

"Wontchya come sit down," Snake told her and she glanced up at him. He didn't bark at her, just spoke softly to her, but his tone brokered no argument with the man. She could see it in his eyes. He wanted her to sit down and get to know Billy. Obviously he was there to stay too. So she swallowed whatever excuse she was about to make and went to sit down on the couch. Not right next to Billy, but sort of in the middle, that way it didn't look like she was avoiding him like the plague. If he leaned over he could touch her, but he wasn't hovering in her personal space.

She clasped her hands together in her lap, but they ended up tucked between her thighs just to keep from fidgeting too noticeably. 

Nearby Snake pulled a bag out if his pocket with something green in it, and she assumed it was pot. Then he pulled out a pack if cigarette papers and proceeded to roll a joint, idly listening to the conversation, while Billy made small talk with her. She sat rigidly, hands folded together, and tried to concentrate on her breathing, keeping her eyes on Snake's hands as he crumbled buds of weed into tiny pieces to be rolled neatly in the paper. She didn't dare look directly at Billy, at least until he asked, "How old are ya, baby girl?"

"I'm twenty," she said, briefly reaching up to scratch her nose.

"You get high?"

"What? Oh. No. No I don't smoke or nothin'."

"Ain't gonna rat on us are ya?" he smirked.

That actually made her chuckle a little, just a nervous little spurt of a laugh before she said, "No. No, I ain't gonna say nothin'. Nearly everybody I know smokes weed. It don't bother me none. You know they made it legal now in a few places? Doctors even say it's good for ya."

Billy chuckled at her, then spared a glance at Snake before taking another swig of his beer.

"Well amen to that," he quipped. Snake just smiled a little, but stayed focused on what he was doing, rolling the bits of weed in the paper with his thumbs and forefingers before his tongue glided over the adhesive to dampen it. "So whaddya like to get into?" Billy asked her, but she wasn't sure of what the question meant. Like if he meant what other drugs she did, if not weed, or if it was in general of what she liked to do for fun. So she just shrugged a little. "Ya got any friends? Or do ya just hole up in this house all by yourself day in an' day out?"

"Oh...uhm...I have friends, yeah." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "A couple anyway. We go out sometimes. But most of my friends went off to college after they got outta high school, so I don't see those ones much anymore."

"Why aintchya in school? How's come you're still livin' back home with your momma?"

"Well, I just...Momma ain't got nobody else right now so I've been helpin' take care of things, payin' the bills and whatnot. She couldn't afford this place all by herself. I don't really mind. I don't think I would've liked college much anyway."

Her mother told her all the time she was too dumb for college, and she was probably right. Tessa didn't have much trouble graduating from high school, but she knew the classes would only get harder, and she'd struggle to keep up. Plus there were all kinds of requirements for government funding, and if she let her grades drop, she'd lose it. She wouldn't be able to afford a college education without all those government grants and student loans and she just didn't think she could do it. But she didn't want to say all that out loud to Billy and look even more stupid than she already felt.

But Billy just casually nodded at what she did say, like he was interested, all the while his eyes roamed over her some more.

"Ya gotta boyfriend?"

"No."

"No?"

She shook her head. "Uh-uh."

"Ain't no boys ya tryna talk to?"

She shook her head.

She thought of lying and saying she was taken, because then maybe Billy wouldn't hit on her anymore, but she doubted a man like him would let something like that stop him. She really wasn't very good at lying either. Most people could see right through it, and the way Billy looked at her with those eyes of his, it was like he could see into her soul. His smile widened a little after telling him she was single and available. "Well maybe you and I should be talkin' then," he said, leaning back and throwing his arm over the back of the couch. "Wontchya come sit on my lap and we'll talk about the first thing that pops up."

Rather than get disgusted by that, Tessa just chuckled a little. She heard that one a lot. Guys said that to her all the time. Nearby Snake snorted and said, "That'll be a short conversation."

"Fuck you," Billy laughed at him. Snake smiled and lit the joint in his hand.

Tessa thought that was kind of funny too, so she covered her mouth to cover up a louder laugh, and pressed her lips together behind her hand.

But Billy was obviously determined, because he set down his beer, turned back to Tessa and leaned closer to her. She might've been alright with it, if not for him reaching out and sliding his hand up her thigh. All of her cheer died that instant and her pulse raced in sudden fear. "Come on, baby girl, wontchya take me upstairs and show me whachya can do with that pretty little mouth yours. Hmm? Whaddya say?" He rubbed and squeezed her high, alarmingly close to what she guarded between her legs, and now she'd had enough of 'getting to know Billy'.

She shot off the couch and put some distance between them that instant, shifting about nervously as she spoke.

"I-I'm sorry, but...look, I ain't that kinda girl. I don't know what my momma told y'all about me but I ain't like her. I don't do that kinda thing like what she does." Hoping not to piss him off too much, she added, "You seem like a nice man an' all, but I just ain't interested." Her heart pounded loudly in her ears from such instense fear, not knowing how either man would react, if refusing his friend would anger Snake, much less what he might do if it did, and she panicked. So she lied and said, "I gotta go get ready for work now." Which wasn't true, she didn't have to get ready for another hour, but she needed to get away from them.

She backed up toward the stairs, then shuffled up them, trying not to trip on her own two feet as she climbed.


	9. Chapter 9

"Damn," Billy cursed, snapping his fingers, then he leaned back on the couch with a sigh. "Shot down in flames." But then he winced when Snake leaned forward and proceeded to kick him in the shin. "What the hell was that for?" he asked, reaching to rub his leg.

"The hell is the matter with you, huh?" Snake huffed at him. "Feelin' up on her like that."

"What? Was just tryna get friendly with her is all. It was your bright idea for me to meet her."

Snake took another hit on the joint before he passed it to Billy and as he held the smoke in he strained the words, "Yeah but not just ta hit on her." Then he exhaled. Billy scowled a little as he puffed on the joint. 

"Why do ya care so goddamned much?" Billy asked.

"Cause I like her mother," was Snake's simple answer, to which Billy flexed his jaw a little, but made no complaints. Too many of them were liable to piss Snake off, and he knew better than to make him angry. He just couldn't understand why in the hell Snake even liked her so much. He'd always been obsessed with her. Billy caught him staring at her countless times when she'd stop in at Prunty's out on the highway and hang around the members. She was just another bar fly, buzzing around, but Snake was always eyeing her like she was the Queen of England and the sun shined out if her ass. 

Wasn't any of Billy's business who Snake took to bed with him, but he just couldn't fathom why the man wanted to hang around and play husband to her, make nice with her daughter, and give a fuck what either of them did. This wasn't like Snake to give a damn what anyone thought. Billy just wasn't used to it. But Snake had been different lately. Wasn't such a loose cannon like he used to be. When they were younger, Snake was always the first to pull his pistol on someone, always the last to leave the argument, and never thought twice about what he said or did, but lately he'd calmed down quite a bit.

Ever since Captain called them collect, said he didn't look to be getting out any time soon on account of the Supreme Court throwing out his appeal, and telling them he wanted Snake to take over in his stead. Put his name forward. They'd all voted on it, and while the vote wasn't unanimous, most of them were content with Snake running the show on Captain's behalf. Snake became the new acting President, and ever since then he wasn't quite so eager to jump the gun anymore. He still handled business same as usual, but he was a lot calmer, and more thoughtful on things. 

Wasn't as mean spririted to people, and treated his women much the same.

Some would say he was getting soft, but Billy would say he was just getting old, that was all. 

Too old to die young, but too healthy to just drop dead on his barstool.

Not even all that junk he shot himself up with could kill him, so he'd die of a ripe old age, and he knew it too. Looked like Calvin "Snake Eyes" Jameson was finally feeling his age, so he was finally settling down.

"Fuckin' hell, you're gonna marry that woman aren't ya," Billy groaned when it occurred to him, and Snake chuckled, his eyes squinting when he took another puff off the joint and passed it back to Billy.

"As good as she is in bed, I just might," he said.

"Worth the rate she charges?"

"An' then some," Snake told him, to which he snorted.

He sat back and stared at the empty stairwell Tessa had climbed and rubbed his chin. He couldn't be faulted for trying to get a piece of that nice little ass that went upstairs to get ready for work. That girl was probably tight as a vicegrip, though judging by the way she acted, she was probably a virgin. But Snake was right. She truly wasn't anything like her mother. One of those good girls that kept their nose clean and their legs crossed. Sweet little girls like her required patience from a man. Well, Billy had nothing better to do he supposed, so patience he certainly had.

He settled more comfortably on the couch, sighed and said, "Alright then," like he was agreeing to an idea Snake proposed. "I'll keep my hands off Tessa," he said. Then he laughed. "But I can't garantee I ain't gonna keep my mouth shut around her. That girl is any man's wet dream, is what she is."

Snake chuckled. "Just be good to her," he said, tapping the ashes off the joint and into the ashtray on the table. "And don't be hittin' her, or tryna force that shit if she ain't willin'."

"You have my solid guarantee," Billy swore. He would never be like that with her anyway. Never was to women, not unless they deserved it. He'd known a few that needed to be put in their place, but a sweet little angel of a woman like Tessa? He couldn't imagine he'd ever need to, much less would he ever want to. A girl like that would surely be loyal too. She'd treat her old man right. Take care of him. She just didn't like them getting handsy with her. But he'd been certain she was interested right up until he started feeling her up, then she turned him down. No, she wasn't like Roxanne Middleton ne'er at all.

How in the hell did such a devil of a woman get blessed with such a sweet little baby girl?

About ten minutes went by before she came back down stairs, wearing her work uniform and slinging her purse over one shoulder. She didn't wear any make-up, but she'd pulled her hair up out of her face. Billy spotted the Exxon emblem on her breastpocket and clicked his teeth. It would take her at least an hour to get there if she was walking, and he didn't see a car out front, so he assumed she was. That road was awful narrow and she was liable to get hit by somebody. "Ya work at the Exxon huh?" he commented and she glanced at him. She looked put off still, but kind of apologetic, like she felt bad for turning him down.

"Yeah," she said.

"Kinda far out there. Ya gotta ride?"

"No, I'm walkin', but I do it all the time, so I'm kinda used to it."

He spared a glance at Snake, then said, "Why don't I give you a ride?" Then he chuckled at the look she gave him. "Dont worry, I'll keep my hands to myself."

She glanced back and forth between both men, almost like she was waiting for Snake to say something about it, but he didn't. "It's alright. I can walk."

She started to head to the door, when it appeared Snake made up his mind on something and said, "Why dontchya let Billy take ya."

"Yeah lemme take ya," he said again beside him. He set his beer on the coffee table and started to rise to his feet. "That road's awful dangerous, baby girl."

Her lip twitched. "So is gettin' on the back of a bike with somebody who's been drinkin'," she said, crossing her arms over her chest, and he chuckled. He didn't think Tessa even had any snark in her, but evidently she had a little, and though he wouldn't like hearing smart mouthed comments like that from someone like her mother, they sounded pretty good on her. Maybe in the future he could find more ways to bring out that sass of hers just to hear how it sounded. "It's still drinkin' and drivin' even if you're on a bike," she added, like he meant to say it somehow didn't count.

"Oh I only had just the one," he lied and started toward the door. "I'll be back later, brother," he called back to Snake, who nodded. He ushered Tessa out the door and stepped off the porch to start up his bike, flipping his sunglasses back down over his eyes. She shifted nervously as he plucked his helmet up first and strapped it on. "I only got the one helmet, so ya gotta hold on tight, baby," She looked reluctant still, but she didn't say anything and just nodded. She eyed his motorcycle with some small amount of appreciation. It was an Indian Chief, muted wine apple red in color, with gold lettering, and he was mighty proud of it. 

It was a two seater, but it didn't have a back rest, so she'd have to cozy on up to him in the saddle to sit comfortably, a thought that made him smirk a little. "Ever been on a bike before?" he asked and she shook her head 'no'. "Well goddamn, I'm takin' the little lady for her very first bike ride?" He chuckled. "That's almost like takin' a girl's virginity." Her lip twitched again and she shifted restessly. "Don't worry, baby, I'll be gentle," he quipped and straddled his bike. He leaned it upright and lifted the kick stand. Then he turned the key. "Hop on," he said over the rumble of the engine and watched in the reaview mirror as she carefully stepped onto the peg and swung her leg over.

She put her hand on his shoulder for leverage and settled onto the seat. But she sat too far back like she was scared to press against him. He shifted so he could pull her closer without losing his balance and reached back, grabbing a handful of that ass and she gasped a little when he pulled her flush against him. "Like that, baby girl," he said, letting his hand brush against her thigh as he withdrew it. Then he reached for her wrist to bring her arm down off his shoulder and around his waist instead. "Like I said, you better hold on tight. And if I lean around a turn, you lean with me, alright?"

"Alright," she nodded, and he gave it a little gas, just to make her heart pound in her chest. He smiled again when he shifted into gear and took off, the sudden movement making her cling tighter to him. She felt so light, and if not for feeling her pressed against him, those thighs squeezing his and her arms wrapped tightly around him, he'd never even know she was there. When they got back on the highway, she did just as he said and leaned with him, feeling like she was made for being on that back seat. He looked in the rearview mirror a few times to catch her smiling just a little, like she was enjoying herself, but a little surprised by it. Like she didn't expect to like it.

He grinned at that.

Oh he loved her now. Fell head over heels that instant, and the devil help him, but he was wrapped around that little girl's finger now. No doubt about it.


	10. Chapter 10

He didn't go over the speed limit, but he tended to take the turns a little sharply, or tap the gas pedal suddenly, so that she'd grip him tighter. She could see his profile in the mirror, and the smile on his face whenever he did that. Deplorable, in Tessa's eyes. She could tell he did it on purpose. But it felt good though, to be pressed up against his solid frame. She hated that. Hated that she liked it so much. But she could see why so many women loved it though. There was just something about being on the back of that motorcycle, with the wind in her face, and the sunshine beating down from above, that made her feel something she'd never felt before.

Something a little like freedom.

She constantly fought to keep from smiling as they took the winding road that led to the interstate, where the Exxon sat just off the exit ramp. Every once in a while she'd catch herself staring at Billy's profile in the mirror too. Sometimes he'd notice and she'd have to look away, feeling her face turn red in embarrassment. She didn't want to admit she was kind of attracted to him. She had no business being attracted to a man like him. But finally the ride was over when they reached the Exxon and he slowly pulled in next to the closest gas pump, then shut the engine off. 

He planted both feet to keep the bike upright and leaned back against her chest.

Just for a split second she wanted to stay like that, didn't want to get off, but she forced herself to.

She noticed the name sewn into the back of his vest. 'The Kid'. His name was Billy the Kid, like the famous gunfighter from the Old West...

And beneath that vest was a loaded pistol.

She swung her leg over and stepped off the bike, then shifted about awkwardly as Billy stared at her.

"What time ya get off tonight, baby girl?" he asked.

"Ten o' clock."

"Your momma gonna come pick ya up?"

"No, I usually walk home too."

"Alright. I'll be back to pick ya up then."

Tessa chewed her bottom lip. "Thank you, but I can walk. It really ain't no big deal. I do it all the time."

She didn't even know why he cared. Why did it matter to Billy that she had to walk home? She was just a piece of ass to a man like him.

"You walkin' down that narrow ass road all by yourself at ten o' clock at night? Hell no. Ya can forget all about that, baby girl. Ima pick ya up at ten."

"You really ain't gotta do that-"

"I'll see ya tonight."

He started the bike back up and rode off, leaving her standing there by the gas pump, dumbfounded. 

He was probably just trying to get on her good side, because he was trying to get in her pants. She couldn't imagine that Billy was being chivalrous. She picked at her nails and stared off into the direction he went, long after she couldn't see his bike anymore. She was at work far too early, and didn't really know what to do with herself, so she sat down on the curb near the entrance, pulled out her phone, and read for a little while. With nothing better to do with her time, she read a lot. Just about anything she could download for free. Went onto an app that had stories available to read free of charge, and scrolled through some of those.

Her mother didn't keep romance novels or any kind of romantic movies like The Notebook in the house, because she said they were all full of shit. All books like that did were fill a girl with false hope for something that would never ever happen, because things like love and romance were all just fairytales. "That ain't real life," she'd said, and dismissed such notions as pure imagination. Tessa didn't necessarily disagree with her, no boy she'd ever been with made her feel like she was the star of a movie, but she still liked to read them sometimes, so she'd scroll through the reading list on her phone until she found one she liked.

That day, she just so happened to find one about a girl that gets involved with a handsome biker, and for whatever stupid reason she got curious and gave it a read. But she could only make it halfway through the first chapter before rolling her eyes and moving on to something else. She hated the way the author romanticized bikers and motorcycle clubs. They made the men all sound so handsome and irresistible, depicted them as just poor lost souls on the wrong side of the law that were all secretly sensitive and romantic, just waiting for the right girl to come along and bring out the best in them. What a load of bullshit.

She'd read the paper. She'd watched the news. So maybe some clubs weren't all that bad, did things like organize charity events and do poker runs to raise funds for some children's hospital, but that wasn't the Pagans. That was some other club in some other city, where all it meant to be a member was to wear a vest with some patches on it and ride a Harley down the street in some parade. But there? In her town? Being a biker meant having an arrest record. They all had one. They all did time in prison for some crime or other. Every last one of them. They were busted for narcotics and caught with underage girls in that bar they all hung out at.

They were drug dealers. Thieves, ex cons, and murderers. They weren't good people. They were the kind of people that treated women like property, and slapped them around just if they felt like it. Pimped their girlfriends out to their friends in exchange for dope or pills. Tessa wasn't stupid. She knew what men like Snake and Billy the Kid were all about. Those were the kind of men in her house that day, sitting in her living room, drinking beer and smoking weed. Those were the kind of men she had to be polite to, had to cater to, like they were proper guests and she was just some little housewife entertaining company.

It made her feel sick to her stomach.

She quit the reading app and tried listening to music instead.

If she could just escape her life for a little while, maybe she'd be alright.

She bit her nails down to the quick that whole night at work, worrying her bottom lip and staring at the clock in between ringing up customers and restocking the shelves, dreading the hour her shift was over and she'd see that red Indian pull into the parking lot. At 10:05 she heard the engine roaring as it neared the station and finally pulled in. Beside her one of her coworkers stood outside smoking a cigarette, waiting for her friend to pick her up. "Oh my God," she breathed when she spotted the bike, and the man sitting on the seat. "Oh my fucking god." She hurriedly put out her cigarette. "Oh my god, Tessa, we need to go inside like right now. Come on."

Tessa hung back when Bethany tugged on her arm, meaning to pull her back inside the Exxon and lock the door hehind them. "Wait, Beth, stop. That's...that's my ride home."

"What?!" Bethany hissed, eyes darting to Billy as he pulled in, shocked and alarmed. 

Tessa sighed. "He's a friend of my momma's new boyfriend. He's just givin' me a ride."

"Tessa he's a Pagan! What the fuck are you thinking?!"

She rolled her eyes. Honestly? She didn't know what the fuck she was thinking.

Billy pulled up beside them, downshifted, and sat in idle, eyes wandering over her first, then Bethany next. "Evenin'," he quipped, and Bethany swallowed. She didn't respond, but he just shrugged it off and turned his eyes back to Tessa. "Ya ready ta get outta here, baby girl?" he asked Tessa and she nodded. When she stepped toward the bike, Bethany instinctively reached to grab her arm, meaning to pull her back. "Your friend don't look too happy ta see ya go," he commented. "Wontchya go on back inside, darlin'," he said to Bethany smirking. "Never know what kinda dangerous men might be lurkin' out here this late at night."

Catching the mockery of his statement, Bethany scowled at him. "Be careful," she said to Tessa, then walked away.

"I'll see ya later," she told Bethany and moved to step onto the foot peg and swing her leg over the seat behind Billy.

She did her best to ignore the way her heart pounded when he reached to pat her thigh before peeling out of the parking lot.


	11. Chapter 11

Roxanne didn't normally make housecalls, and most usually brought men back to her place if she didn't fuck them in a bathroom stall. The last thing she needed was for someone's wife or girlfriend to come home unexpectedly and walk in on their man in bed with the likes of her. She'd had that happen only once before, but once was enough, and after that she made it a strict rule to never go back to their place. But with that being said, she made an exception for Bobby Livingston.

Bobby was single, his wife just left him six months ago, and for the time being he was happy being all alone in that house of his. But every once in a awhile he wanted to get his rocks off with something better than porn, so he called up Roxanne on such occasions. After her shift let off at the Cornerstone, she drove the twenty minute drive to his house on the edge of town, and parked her beat up Cavalier in the driveway next to his Audi, checked her hair and make-up in the rear view mirror, then stepped out of the car and skipped up the steps to the front porch.

Bobby saw her car pull in, so he was already at the door. No need to knock this time around. He opened the door and leaned against the frame, letting his dark eyes wander over her body with a smile on his face. She smiled back. She never got tired of men looking at her the way Bobby did just then. Like she was something edible. It was just the boost to her ego she needed right then. He was fairly handsome too. Barbara's reason for leaving him certainly had nothing to do with his looks, or even how bad he was in bed. Bobby was terrific.

He slowly pulled Roxanne into his arms and kissed her neck, closing the door behind them.

"Ya wanna take me upstairs, baby?" she asked. "Or just fuck right here on the couch."

He chuckled, then pretended to think about it, like he hadn't already made up his mind. "How about the couch this time around?" he asked, and she nodded in agreement. She led him over to it, then pushed him down and straddled his lap.

One thing Roxanne never understood about books and novels talking about women in the business was why they never enjoyed what they did. They always acted like sex was such a chore. Were always ashamed of it too. But Roxanne wasn't above admitting she loved it. Even if she didn't get off, it was still fun. Enjoying sex with her customers was never the hard part about the job. The hard part was avoiding attachment to the men she catered. Some of them, such as sweethearts like Randy, or sexy studs like Bobby, made it difficult. Heaven forbid she ever fell in love with any of them, but so far she'd yet to.

But she didn't mind at all when Bobby hiked up her dress and squeezed her ass before smacking it just once. "Goddamn you gotta nice ass," he sighed and she grinned at him. Bobby was obsessed with her ass. Even paid her extra on occasion for anal. But tonight he just wanted a quick bang, because he was a little light on cash at the moment, since Barbara took her half of the money in their joint account and took him to divorce court. He'd been paying out the whazoo for that bitch and couldn't afford more than pussy this time around.

She ground against the erection tucked in his pants, making him raise his hips and buck a little. He was impatient this time around. It had been too long since he'd gotten laid, and was more anxious to get inside of her than usual. She hiked up her skirt the rest of the way and brought his hand down to her folds to feel how slick she was for him, maybe finger her a little if he wanted. He slid his fingers into her thong and rubbed her clit, making her moan. She didn't have to fake it with Bobby. He was pretty skilled in that area too. Pretty soon she was dripping wet and ready for him to fuck her.

"Where's the condoms at, baby?" she asked and he grinned.

"Got one right here," he said, and reached into his pants pocket. She raised her hips so he could get his pants undone, pull them down a little, and slip the condom on. He wasn't too much lengthwise, but he was nice and thick, and she knew he'd feel pretty good inside her too. Once the condom was on securely, she slowly lowered herself onto him and rode him at a gradually increasing pace, throwing her head back, sighing and moaning loudly. But it felt different this time around. Not quite what she was expecting. He didn't hit her deep enough to get her off, even while he continued to rub her clit with his thumb.

She wasn't worried about it, because getting off wasn't all that important, although Bobby liked it. He liked the boost to his ego of being able to make her come. But for some reason this time around she couldn't get there, not even close, though it did feel incredible. She supposed it had something to do with getting it from Snake the night before. She'd gotten off multiple times, and whoever said a woman couldn't have more than one orgasm in a row is full of shit. By the end of it, she'd gotten off at least three times, that she could remember. They were both pretty trashed, and some of it was a blur.

But it was sexy blur. It seemed like Snake knew just how to touch her, just what she needed. He was long and thick, and stuffed her full, fucked her at all the right angles, just as hard and fast as she needed him to, and she just couldn't get enough of him. Bobby was great, but he seemed a little lackluster in comparison. She slammed down onto him hard, and he fucked into her just as hard, until the pace was almost violent, but she knew she wasn't going to come this time around, so she faked it. She flexed her muscles to mimic the feel of her squeezing around him in an orgasm, threw her head back and cried out, moaning his name because he liked that. Seconds later she could feel him spill into the condom.

Afterglow consisted of small talk while she fixed her appearance and Bobby cleaned himself up. Then he tore out his wallet and paid her for services rendered. That was another disappointing aspect of it all. With her clients, there was no laying in bed wrapped in each other's arms and basking in the hazy glow post orgasm. No, she'd gotten that the night before with Snake too. They laid there for hours afterwords in a pile of sweat, Snake running his hand up and down her spine, then at some point he'd admitted to her he'd always had kind of a thing for her, then he promised to take care of her from now on.

She didn't need to go to anyone else for her fix. Snake would give her what she needed. "Whatever you want, baby," he'd said to her.

But giving it up for a little dope now and then wasn't going to keep her electric on, or her water from being shut off. She wasn't lucky enough to have well water, not since the water department put in new lines, and she had to pay the city for it now. So she smiled at Bobby Livingston as he handed her the cash, and kissed him on the cheek before heading out the door. She counted the money as she walked off the porch and back to her car, then stuffed the bills in her purse. She reached in her glove box for a bottle of perfume and spritzed it on her to cover up the smell of Bobby's cologne, then peeled out of the gravel driveway.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Depictions of heavy drug usage in this chapter

By the time Roxanne got home, Billy had already returned from dropping Tessa off at work, stayed for a little while, then left again to find some manner of bullshit to get into until it was time to pick her back up that night at ten. Snake was alone in the house when Roxanne pulled into the driveway and shut her car off. She had a big smile on her face when she came in to see him lounging on the recliner, happy to see him there. But she looked tired though, like she'd been put through the ringer, had a busy day at work, and knowing Roxanne, Snake doubted she was busy pouring drinks. 

She kicked off her shoes, set her purse on the table, and came to sit on his lap.

She kissed the side of his cheek, and being that close to her, he could smell the heavily laden scent of perfume on her skin. "How was work today?" he asked her and she shrugged a little.

"Oh it was fine I guess," she said. "The usual. Had Georgie breathin' down my neck the whole day. I swear that man has got it out for me."

Snake just nodded at that comment, then he studied her for a moment.

"See any clients today?" he then asked.

She hesitated for a second, like she didn't want to answer that honestly, before she finally nodded and admitted, "Yeah I saw a couple. Gotta pay the bills, ya know? House ain't gonna take care of itself."

Again, he just nodded, rubbing her back a little. He should know better than to think Roxanne would quit working just because they had a deal worked out. She was a whore, was always going to be one, and there wasn't any changing that. He patted that nice ass of hers a couple times and said, "Wontchya go on upstairs and take a shower, then meet me in the bedroom." She smiled at that and nodded. She climbed off his lap and sauntered upstairs, and when he heard the water running he let out a sigh and pried himself out of the chair too, flipping the leg rest down. 

He shuffled up the steps to the second floor and let himself into Roxy's room. He idly listened to the sounds of her showering, lightly humming just a little off key some song she must've heard on the radio in the car, then brushing her teeth, while he pulled items out of the nightstand where he'd stored them for the time being, then some dope from his pocket to prepare a needle for her. He was loading it up with smack when she came into the bedroom, soaking wet, in nothing but a towel. She was a sight too, that nice ass and those big tits if hers barely kept contained in that tiny scrap of cloth. 

She came over to stand in front of him and dropped the towel with a smirk. Goddamn she was a sexy woman, and Snake didn't think he'd ever get enough of her. He smiled, set down the needle and pulled her into his lap. He gripped her thighs as she straddled him and leaned in to catch a pert nipple with his teeth, making her moan. She liked it rough, he'd learned. The harder he fucked her, the more she begged him for it. Just his kind of woman. He spent some time groping and squeezing her curves as he bit and sucked on her tits, first one then the other, until she was grinding against his hard-on, impatient to be fucked.

But there were other things she needed too, other things she'd been missing all day, stuck at work, so he pulled away for a moment and reached around her for the items on the nightstand. Her smile widened and she was practically shaking in anticipation as he snatched up the needle he'd prepared and she held out her arm in expectancy. He held the syringe between his teeth while he prepped her. After tying a piece of elastic to momentarily cut off blood flow, and lightly tapping her vein a few times to get it to rise, he poked it with the syringe. He bit his lip as he concentrated, watching intently as the liquid slowly pushed into her vein.

Her head fell back in a sigh as he pulled loose the elastic band and some of the finest heroin that side of the border flowed into her bloodstream. It made her horney as fuck too, almost like ecstasy, the way it made her desperate for him. But a bit loose too, light headed, and she swayed a little in his lap. He could do whatever he wanted now, and she wouldn't care. He would've saved some for himself, but he really didn't care all that much about getting high right that second. What he wanted more than anything was to fuck this devil of a woman so good she forgot any other man existed.

So he laid her down on the bed, and she went without a word said, had this faraway look in her eyes, pupils blown so wide open they were nearly black, and she had a faint trace of a smile on her face. Oh she'd really be enjoying herself once Snake was deep inside of her too. "You make all your men use a condom, baby?" he asked her and she slowly nodded, dopey grin on her face. She giggled at him.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I ain't dumb. A girl's gotta look out for herself."

Her words were a little slurred, and he smiled at her. He liked her like this. Liked seeing her so happy. All because of him. Because no other man could give her what he did. No other man would ever be so good to her. "Good," he said to her, and kissed her hard on the mouth. When he pulled away, he shirked out of his vest and set it aside. Then his shirt next, watching her bite her lip as she got a look at him. She reached up and lazily ran her hands up and down his chest, smiling. He didn't bother with a condom this time around. She'd mentioned the night before that she'd had a hysterectomy a few years ago. 

She just made them wear a condom so she didn't catch anything. She didn't have to have that worry with Snake though. He knew he was clean. So he unbuttoned his pants, zipped open his fly, got his pants down past his hips and shoved it in. If she had a problem with it, she certainly didn't complain about it. Just let out a moan when he stuffed her full of his dick and went to town. He shoved his tongue down her throat and fucked her as hard as he wanted. Her moans got higher and higher in pitch as he gripped her hair tightly and slammed into her. But she really liked being fucked from behind, so he flipped her over next.

Yanked her head back as he drove deeply into her, making her scream, "Oh fuck yes!" Fucked her like that for a while before he reached to wrap his hand around her neck possessively, not choking her or anything, but she liked his hand there, just barely squeezing. Then he fingered her clit while he fucked to make her come. By now she was shaking and practically crying from the intense pleasure. He slowed down just long enough to feel her pulsing around his dick. There was no faking that with Snake. Any man that didn't know when a woman was really getting off or faking an orgasm obviously didn't know what the hell he was doing with the dick between his legs.

She came so hard she was crying, sobbing, "Oh god yes! Oh fuck! Oh fuck, baby!" Over and over and she was limp in his arms. He picked back up his brutal pace to get himself off, then groaned, letting his eyes fall shut as he pumped out cum into that sopping wet cunt. 

Goddamn she was so good.

It was no wonder every man in the county lined up at the door to get a piece of that ass.

Snake was just satisfied knowing no other man in the county could fuck her as good as he did.

He laid her down on the bed and shuffled to the bathroom to clean himself up. He flushed the wad of toilet paper down the toilet and returned to see Roxanne still out of it on the bed, eyes half lidded, sweat dampening her brow. Weak as a newborn kitten, and he smirked at the sight of her. He reached in his pants pocket for his cigarettes then flopped down on the bed next to her as he lit one, leaning back against the headboard. It would be a while before she was coherent again. He thought about some things while she recovered. When she finally stirred, she rolled onto her side facing him, and brushed his skin with her fingers.

He rested his hand on her head and lovingly pet her hair.

He broke the silence with, "I got ta thinkin' 'bout somethin'."

"What's that, baby?"

"Wontchya quit turnin' them tricks down at the Cornerstone."

She sat up a little at that. Her hair had dried into a tangled mess that fell over one shoulder, and without all that make-up she usually wore, she looked her age, but she was still gorgeous though. Didn't make him feel quite so old seeing her how she truly was, not so much like a creepy old pervert. Just like a man, that was all. Like a man in bed with his old lady, sharing pillow talk. She frowned at him, crease in her brow, confused by the suggestion he made. "I didn't think you minded all that much," she said to him, with a little shrug of the shoulder. He puffed on his cigarette one final time before stamping it out in the tray on the nightstand.

"Don't make no difference to me," he admitted. "But you ain't gotta do that shit no more, baby, not with me around."

She snorted, then flopped back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. 

"Dope ain't gonna pay my bills, Snake Eyes," she said. "That shit job down at the Cornerstone don't hardly pay jack, and Tessa works hard as she can, but things are tight. I need the money from my clients right now. The land contract on this house ain't up yet, and if I don't get that rent money to Sammy every first of the month, he'll kick us both out on our ass."

"I'll pay it then," he said, and she looked up at him. "I told ya I was gonna take care of ya, didnt I?"

She sat up again, but this time it was to scoot off the bed reach for a shirt from the pile of laundry in the hamper to wipe up the cum dripping out of her, then anble over to the dresser for a night shirt. She threw on something lacy and silky looking as she said, "I thought ya just meant you'd get my high is all." She reached for a brush and started to run it through her tangled hair, wincing every time she reached a troublesome knot. "I didn't think you meant you'd be tryna make an honest woman outta me or some kinda shit. I didn't think ya cared all that much." He chuckled at that. 

"Well you can do what you want to, baby," he assured. "But I plan on makin' good on my word. I ain't gonna let ya get kicked outta your house. I said I'd take care of ya."

She didn't seem reassured by that for some reason, set down the brush and folded her arms as she turned to face him. "Look I ain't tryna be your old lady," she said. "I ain't that kinda girl, Snake."

"Did I say I wanted you to be?"

She pursed her lips at him. "I ain't dumb, and I ain't forgot about what Cap said either," she told him, and his jaw ticked a little at Captain's mention. "I ain't goin' anywhere near your friends, and I aint fuckin' none o' them either. I been lookin' after myself just fine all my life. I ain't lettin' no man come in and do what I can do for my damned self, Snake Eyes. Ya wanna fuck me? Fine. Ya wanna get me high even better. But I can take care o' me an mine, just fine as I am. I ain't tryna get involved with club. I don't want no part of it."

He laughed again. Just a low chuckle under his breath. That was a bold faced lie. Years ago, she would've been just as content being somebody's old lady if it got her what she wanted. She just acted like she didn't want the life because Cap wouldn't let her have it. "Ya ain't gotta fuck none o' my friends, baby doll," he said. "I quite like having you all to myself." He stood up from the bed. "I'm just tryna look after ya. You an' that little girl." He slipped his arms around her waist from behind and pressed against her. "So wontchya let me do that for ya, baby. Lemme look after ya." 

He buried his face in her hair and kissed her neck.

Eventually she gave in and let him, relaxed in his arms and let him hold her, head falling back on his shoulder.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and searched up a song. "Roxanne" by The Police, and started playing it for her, singing badly along with it, making her laugh. He swayed her in his arms.

He felt her sigh. "I will never understand you, Snake Eyes," she said and he smiled. 

"Men like me don't need ta be understood, baby," he said. "Just need to be loved on every once in a while."

She hummed at those words, then turned to kiss his cheek.


	13. Chapter 13

Even with as hot as it had been that day, it was still cold as hell that night, and since she didn't have a jacket on, Tessa shivered behind Billy when he sped up to 55 and the wind hit her. She clung tighter to him, stuffing her hands inside his vest, seeking his warmth. So he did his best to keep it as slow as he could get away with on the highway so she wouldn't freeze to death on that back seat. She felt good, pressed so tightly against him, resting her cheek between his shoulder blades, and at one point he couldn't help but take one hand off the bars as he coasted, to place it over hers. They felt ice cold, so he rubbed them with his to warm them up.

If she minded, she didn't say so, probably because she was just that fucking cold. Didn't make a sound as they rode, just lay against him until he turned off the highway and onto the access road that led to her mother's house. Once they hit gravel, Billy slowed down, so the wind wasn't hitting her quite as fierce as before. She didn't pull away, but she lifted her head at least. All too soon the house came into view. The lights were off like no one was home, but he could see Roxanne's Cavalier parked out front, and Snake's Harley right next to it. They were probably in bed. He pulled up beside the motorcycle and killed the engine. 

Tessa hesitated for a minute or so, like she didn't want to get off, and Billy came this close to inviting her back to his place when he felt her put her hand on his shoulder for leverage so she could swing her leg over the saddle and hop off the bike, careful not to scuff the shiny exhaust pipe with her shoe. Like she'd been doing it her whole life. She shifted her purse on her shoulder and brushed hair out of her face where the wind had tousled it. She looked like she didn't know what to say to him. Maybe she liked him too, but evidently she didn't want anything to do with a man like him. That much she made obvious.

But she sure did like being on the back of his bike.

"Thank you for the ride," she said to him.

"Anytime, baby girl," he said. She turned away, but he hooked his finger in her belt loop and gently tugged her back. "I mean that. Wontchya let me take ya to work from now on, when your momma can't take ya. Shouldn't be walkin' on that road. It's too dangerous, baby. You're liable to get hit by somebody."

"I ain't been hit yet," she shrugged. "I do it all the time."

"Yeah well, one of these days it's gonna happen, or some asshole might tryta pick you up, and he may seem alright, but he ain't gonna have no good intentions."

She shifted around, folding her arms across her chest, then looking down at herself. 

"Who in their right mind would tryta pick up girl like me?" she asked, obviously not thinking she was even worth a damn. His eyes passed over her for a second. It was true that she wasn't a super model, didn't look like one of those girls in magazines, but she wasn't ugly, and Billy would fuck her in a heartbeat. No man was really going to care what she looked like, not when all they cared about was what she had between her legs. All alone in the middle of the night, walking on some dark road with nobody around to witness? It was a miracle some rapist hadn't tried to lure her into their car yet.

"I know I would," he admitted at her question and she pursed her lips at him. He chuckled. "Ain't no man gonna care what ya look like, only how defenseless you are, 'cause that makes it easier for 'em. And sooner or later it's bound to happen."

She eyed him skeptically. "Ain't no man's gonna tryta rape me," she denied. He just laughed at that.

"I beg to differ, baby girl," he quipped, eyes on that nice body if hers. 

She picked at her nails, bottom lip starting to tremble, like she was worried he might be right. After all, not just hours before, Billy himself had propositioned her. Men like him were everywhere, but they weren't always so polite. He'd hate to think of something like that happening to this sweet angel of a woman. Inwardly he cursed that whore of a mother of hers, for making her walk to work. He'd always hated Roxanne, and that just added more reasons to, on top of it. Tessa stared for a second, before finally being brazen enough to say, "You sure the man I gotta worry about ain't you?"

He snorted. "I ain't like that, baby girl," he told her. "Ya ain't gotta have that worry."

She mulled it over for another minute or so, studying his face, like she was searching it for any hint of deception, considering his offer, before finally sighing and saying, "I ain't gotta helmet."

"I'll get ya one," he said. Maybe a jacket too, so she wouldn't be cold at night. "Can't have the baby crackin' her skull wide open on the highway."

Having run out of excuses to make, Tessa gave in and nodded. "Alright then. I work 4 to close tomorrow."

He nodded. "I'll be here," he said. "And anytime you need a ride somewhere, you call me. Snake's got my number. Dontchya be walkin' down that narrow ass rode no more." She ducked her chin in a nod, then turned to walk up to the porch. His eyes gravitated to her ass, and those hips as they swayed. "Baby girl," he called, and she glanced over her shoulder at him. "Ya ever change your mind and decide you wanna take me for ride too, you let me know." She balked at that, and looked away shyly, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. He grinned at her. That blush looked good on those cheeks.

"Goodnight Billy," she said and fumbled with her keys.

He watched her fight with the door, then scurry on inside before he started his bike, backed it into the yard and turned it around, then rode away.

But the whole ride into town he couldn't get her out of his head, so he went to see Candice. 

She was over eighteen now, so he didn't have a guilty conscience over fucking her, and he needed to get laid, so he drove to her place. She lived in the projects, in a one bedroom apartment. She was obsessed with him, so he highly doubted she'd turn him away, even if she had company. She'd kick them to the curb for Billy. Do whatever he wanted too. She was one of the Hunnies, what Liz and the other Ladies liked to call the hang-arounds that typically frequented Prunty's Bar, cozying up to club members and spreading their legs for them. Girls like Candice would sleep with any Pagan to get in good with them, hoping to go from hang-around to 'keep around', and one day be somebody's Ol Lady.

They were sluts, every last one of them, and Candice was the biggest one. Most popular too. She didn't have an old man yet, so nobody to answer to, and she could fuck whoever she wanted still. Billy could fuck her without worrying about pissing off another member. He was VP now, so technically he could fuck whoever he wanted, be they a Lady, or somebody's whore, didn't matter as long as they weren't Snake's, but he was never the type to take from another member, even if he was offered the opportunity. He didn't fuck other members' Ladies. But he'd fuck Candice or one of the other Hunnies on occasion, when he was particularly hard up for some pussy.

She wasn't much to look at, not pretty like Tessa was, but she had big tits, a fat ass, and an open mouth to stick his dick in. She'd do in a pinch. She had her heart set on becoming somebody's P.O., and had her sights set on Billy, but the feeling wasn't mutual. She didn't love him either, she just loved the lifestyle, that was all. She just liked the patch on his vest, sewn into the back right under the Pagans symbol, that read 'Vice President', and the status that came with it. She was good for the occasional fuck, but nothing more. He didn't want to be tied down to her. But since Tessa evidently didn't want anything to do with him, wasn't even the type, he'd go see Candice to get his rocks off.

He pulled into the empty parking space in front of her apartment, next to a beat up looking Chevy S-10. Covered in mud, with stickers in the back glass. Belonging to some blue collared boy most likely. A fucking redneck. Billy hated rednecks. Those boys were even worse than dealing with white collars and cops. They were loud, stupid, and the drunker they got, the bigger their balls were. Always ran their mouth too. Never knew when to back off from a fight, and most usually only did when Billy pulled his pistol. They all thought they were a bunch of badasses just because they drank beer and drove a jacked up truck.

Oh and their country music too. There was no worse thing on this earth in Billy's mind than the sound of a twangy steel guitar, and it made Billy want to kill somebody rather than listen to that shit. He strolled up to Candice's apartment door and banged loudly on it. To no surprise to Billy, some lanky kid in jeans and a t-shirt, with muddy boots and a camo hat, answered the door, holding a beer. "Who the fuck are you?" he drawled, swaying a little. Looking like a gust of wind might blow him over. He glared daggers at Billy with his glassy eyes, but it hardly phased the Pagan.

"Where's Candice?" he huffed, and heard footsteps.

"Who wants to know?" 

"Candice!" Billy barked, just as she appeared in the doorway, wide eyed in surprise. "Get this redneck outta my fuckin' face!"

Candice was only half dressed, wearing a t-shirt and nothing else, no make-up on like she just rolled out of bed, and he assumed either she just got done fucking this boy, or was about to, but the moment she saw Billy, she couldn't care that he even existed, turned to him and said, "Time to go home, Rodney. Go. Now. Get outta here." His expression morphed to one of bewilderment mixed with anger at being told he had to leave. He opened his mouth to talk, but Candice talked over him and said, "Rodney, you need to leave right the fuck now," with no humor whatsoever, because she wasn't about to turn Billy away.

"I ain't goin' nowhere!" he swore, getting even more angry, crushing his beer can. "Who the hell is this asshole?! Bitch you better start explainin' some shit before I-"

He didn't get another word in, because at that moment, Billy shoved his way into the apartment and pushed him out, closing the door in his face and locking it. Both he and Candice ignored the shouting and banging on the other side of the door, and her eyes followed him as he wandered over to her couch and flopped down on it, throwing his boots onto the coffee table and lacing his fingers behind his head. "He's just a friend," Candice swore, as if Billy was supposed to care about her having some other man in her bed. "It didn't mean anything. I was gettin' lonely that's all. Been so long since ya come ta see me. I been missin' you. Can't stop thinkin' about ya."

He tipped his head back in a slight nod, bored look on his face. Glossing over her flimsy explanation of the circumstances, he said, "Wontchya take care o' me tonight."

She smiled at him, shifting to the side and jutting out her hip. "I'll always take care of ya, baby," she purred.

Oh he hadn't a doubt in his mind she would try. He could care less about her though. She'd never be what he wanted. She was just an easy fuck, nothing more.

He pictured Tessa while they fucked, got off on the fantasy of that soft body of hers writhing underneath him, quaking in his arms, and that husky little voice of hers moaning his name.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for physical abuse and body shaming in this chapter.

Tessa would sleep in, but the house wouldn't take care of itself, so as soon as her eyes cracked open, she rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom to relieve herself, then shuffled down the stairs to start a pot of coffee and get to work. Since technically her mother worked two jobs, bartending at the Cornerstone amd servicing men, and all Tessa had to do was 'stand in front of a register all day', housework was her responsibility. The cooking and the cleaning, the washing and the folding, taking out the trash, all of it was hers to do, and if she didn't do it, the house would decline. She didn't mind the chores. She just wished she could have a break from it every once in a while.

Just for a little while. Just a day or so, maybe to hang out with some friends, or maybe meet a boy. It was hard finding one when all she did was work, or stand barefoot in the kitchen, hands steeped in dishwater. She wouldn't dare complain though, and sound like some spoiled, entitled brat. Like she had any kind of privilege. She didn't. She knew that. So dutifully she ambled into the kitchen and put a pot of coffee on. Snake and Roxanne appeared to be in bed still, but this was no surprise to her. Typically Roxanne didn't roll out of bed until she absolutely had to, sometimes sleeping well into the afternoon when she didn't have to work a morning shift.

Sometimes sleeping in the afternoon was the only way she'd get any kind of sleep at all, with all her nightly activities. So Tessa kept quiet as she milled about the kitchen, checking her messages at the table while she waited for coffee to brew, then rose to silently pour a cup. She hadn't a single message from any of her friends, but that was normal. Nowadays she usually only ran into them at the grocery store or some other public place, since they were no longer in school. They'd chat for a while, promise to get together some time, but never actually do it. They were busy with their own lives, just like Tessa was busy with hers.

Tessa had just finished her morning coffee and started washing dishes when Roxanne could be heard leaving the bathroom and descending the stairs. She looked hungover when she stepped into the kitchen, barefoot, wearing a silk teddy, nothing underneath, but adjusting the bathrobe she'd thrown over it. Yawning and scratching her messy bed head. She reached for the pot of coffee and lifted a cup from the cabinet. Tessa said nothing. Her mother couldn't hold a proper conversation until she'd had a cup of coffee in her hand and her morning smoke. She flopped down at the table and lit the cigarette presently.

Tessa always waited for Roxanne to speak first, so she knew her mother was awake enough to talk to, and wouldn't get irritated. As quietly as she could, she rinsed the silverware she'd washed, and patiently waited for Roxanne to get awake. Finally, after smoking her cigarette and taking a few sips of coffee now that it wasn't scalding hot, she said, "I gotta start gettin' ready. I gotta stop at the drug store on my way to work. When Snake gets up, you be sure to make him some breakfast if he wants it. And get this fuckin' house picked up too. Top to bottom. Dontchya dare leave til it's clean, Tessa. I ain't gonna have that man stayin' in no pig sty."

"Yes, momma," she nodded, stuffing the silverware in the holder clipped to the plastic dish drainer to dry. She held her breath, trying to judge her mother's mood before she asked her question. She'd thought about it all night. She dried her hands and asked, "Momma, can I get my driver's license?"

Roxanne set down her cup of coffee and stared up at Tessa. "Whatchya want your license for, huh? 'Cause ya ain't gettin' a car. We ain't got the money for that. I'm barely keepin' up with the payments an' car insurance on the one we got."

"Well, I was thinkin'," Tessa stumbled to say, heart pounding in her ears, because Roxanne sounded irritated. "C-Could I drive your car to work, momma? I can drop you off first, an' pick ya up after-"

"You ain't drivin' my fuckin' car," Roxanne snapped at her, and she flinched a little. She rose to to her feet and edged closer to Tessa, jutting out her finger. "I ain't gonna be stuck without a ride for eight fuckin' hours an' leave my car sittin' in the parkin' lot o' that Exxon just so your lazy ass ain't gotta walk!"

"But...but Momma, that road is awful narrow, and the cars they go real fast around them turns sometimes? An' I-I might get hit."

"You ain't gonna get hit," Roxanne groaned, rolling her eyes. "People walk down that road all the fuckin' time and ain't nobody been hit by no car. As fat as you are, ain't like they can't see ya."

Tessa let that insult slide. 

After all, she wasn't a runway model. But she'd looked some stuff up online the night before and was inclined to think Billy might be right about predators not being choosy with their victims. Not all girls that were kidnapped were georgous women. Most of the missing persons reports she'd stumbled upon were women like her, targeted because they were alone and defenseless. Walking home alone one night, and they were never seen again. They didn't only happen in big cities either. Some were snatched up in remote towns like theirs because there were no houses for miles around and no one to hear them scream.

"Someone might try ta pick me up, an' kidnap me or somethin-"

"Oh bullshit!" Roxanne scoffed. "No man in their right mind would ever try to pick up a girl like you. The fuck would they want your ugly ass for, huh?"

Now Tessa was angry. She made the mistake of snapping at Roxanne. "Ain't no man's gonna care what I look like long as I gotta cunt between my legs, momma! Ain't you the one that's always sayin' that's all them men o' yours give a fuck about?!"

Roxanne slapped her hard across her face.

"Don't you talk to me like that in my own house, ya smart mouthed little hussy!" she growled as Tessa clutched her burning cheek. "If you ever talk to me that way again I'll bust your fuckin' mouth, ya hear me? This is MY house, an' as long as you're livin' in it, you're gonna mind what you say to me. Understand me?!"

Tessa sniffed a little, holding back the tears. Technically, Roxanne was right. She should never raise her voice to Roxanne or backtalk her mother like that. Her house, her rules. That's the way it was supposed to be. 

Tessa's bottom lip trembled as she nodded. "Yes, momma. I'm sorry momma. I won't do it again."

Roxanne straightened her stance and looked down her nose as her daughter. "Damn right you won't," she said. "Finish cleanin' this fuckin' kitchen," she added. "And your ass ain't gettin' no fuckin' license either. You can get your own ride to work or you're fuckin' walkin'."

"Yes Momma," she nodded, and turned back to the sink.

"Good girl," she heard Roxanne say before she left the room.

She didn't make a sound as she let a few tears fall, now that her mother couldn't see them. 

An hour went by before Snake came downstairs. During that time Tessa had finished the dishes, wiped the counters and swept the floor, then sorted the laundry and started a load in the washing machine. She was fighting with the trash bag, trying to lift it out of the can when he walked in. She'd managed to pry it out by holding the can down with her foot as she lifted the bag. "Mornin'," he grumbled as he sat down at the kitchen table, in the very same spot Roxanne had been before she left, and in a similar manner he lit up a cigarette. He was barefoot and shirtless, and Tessa spotted more tattoos covering his upper body.

The most notable had to be the king cobra etched into his skin and colored a shade of green that matched his eyes. As tense as she had been under her mother's scrutinous gaze she was now ten times so. If he noticed she had been crying, he didn't mention it. It was difficult, but she did her best to put on a more cheerful disposition and forced a smile. "Mornin'," she greeted him back. If she thought Roxanne's slaps across the face were harsh, she didn't want to even imagine the horrible things Snake would do if she ever pissed him off. "Ya want some coffee?" she asked him, pointing to the half a pot that was still warm.

His mouth upturned in a smirk and he nodded. "Thank ya," he said, but then started to rise.

"No it's alright, I'll get it for ya," she rushed to say and he sat back down, a little surprised. She reached into the cupboard for a clean coffee mug and set it on the table. "Ya like cream an' sugar? It's the powdered kind, not the other stuff. But we got milk too, if ya like that instead. It's skim milk though? Cause momma don't like whole milk and she says I shouldn't drink it cause it'll make me gain weight-"

"Little girl," Snake interjected, holding up a hand. "Stop ta take a breath between sentences," he suggested and she closed her mouth.

"I'm sorry."

"Black coffee is fine." She nodded and poured him a cup. She set it down in front of him and watched him tilt his head in appreciation. "Where'd your momma run off to?"

"Work."

"Thought she didn't start til ten thirty?"

"She said she had to stop at the drug store so she left early."

"Hmph."

"Ya hungry? I can make ya somethin'." At his simple nod and small satisfactory smile, Tessa took it as her cue to cook the man some breakfast and opened the refrigerator. They were out if bacon, Tessa had cooked the last of it yesterday, so she pulled out sausage links and after checking with Snake to make sure he liked them, she heated the skillet to fry them up. He was so quiet at the table while she cooked that she almost forgot he was there. His quiet nature still unsettled her, but she supposed she would get used to it over time. She asked him how he liked his eggs, breaking the silence.

She piled the eggs and sausage on the plate and even buttered some toast, then set it before him with a brief smile. She was just about to clean up when he asked, "You ain't gonna sit down an' eat, little girl?"

"Oh I already ate," she lied, but a lot of good that did. Her traitorous stomach growled after she said that and he lifted a brow at her. "I-I was gonna eat after I finished up."

"Sit down and eat somethin'," he said, but she didn't want to. She was still thinking about all those comments Roxanne made about her being fat, and thinking maybe she was right. Maybe Tessa should go on a diet.

"I gotta finish cleanin' the house-"

"It can wait. Sit down an' eat."

"I really shouldnt be eatin' breakfast, momma said eatin' in the mornings is what makes girls gain weight, so I-"

"The fuck are worried about that shit for?" he asked, scrunching his face in confusion. "Whatchya tryna look like a fuckin' matchstick for huh?" Because that's what her mother wanted. She called her fat, and ugly. Which meant she thought she should lose some weight, right? She didn't even notice that she'd started tearing up again until Snake pointed it out. "The fuck is wrong, huh? Why ya cryin', little girl?" She didn't know what to say to him. He didn't look too happy with her at the moment, she didn't even understand why, or how she'd managed to upset him, and she didn't want to make it worse by saying the wrong thing. Why did he care whether or not she ate breakfast? "Little girl?" he repeated.

"I-I'm sorry," she said automatically, and turned away from him. She wiped her tears and tried to hold them in as she walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a box of offbrand cheerios. Then she snatched up a ceramic bowl and poured some in it. She could feel Snake staring at her back as she made a bowl of cereal for herself and gingerly sat across from him to eat it. He kept staring the entire time she ate, but she didn't notice because she kept her head lowered and her eyes downcast. She couldn't look him in the eye. Every nerve was on edge while she ate, so she jumped a little and stared fearfully up at him when he broke the silence.

He didn't look angry anymore, but was very stern looking as he said, "You looked like you'd been cryin' when I first walked in here. What was that about? What did your momma say to you?"

She swallowed. She didn't think he'd even noticed. She didn't want him to think it had anything to do with him so she spoke the truth and murmured, "Momma just had to put me in my place, is all." Then she looked away.

Snake narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her, but he didn't say another word.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to give Nyx and his old lady face claims since they will reoccur as characters and play an integral part in the story in later chapters.
> 
> Here they are:
> 
> [Nyx And Liz Faceclaims](https://thesedejectedthoughts.tumblr.com/post/190545766632)

Billy woke up with a groan and threw his arm over his face to block out the sunlight, but the second he remembered where he was, he was wide awake and ready to leave that instant. He'd stayed the night at Candice's, and winced at the mere thought of her sleeping form laying next to his. He rolled over and sat up, immediately stuffing his feet in his boots by the bed. He was still mostly dressed too, hadn't really bothered to strip down before they got into it. Just pushed her onto her hands and knees on the bed, slipped on a condom, then smashed her face into the pillow to drown out her moans, and closed his eyes.

He hadn't meant to stay the night, but Candice offered him a backrub, and he was too tired to say no to anything she suggested, so he lay there and let her work her magic on his back and fell asleep that way. Just after he'd laced his boots and was reaching for his belongings, Candice stirred on the bed. "Where ya goin' baby?" she slurred, searching for him with an outstretched hand, but he ignored her beckon in favor of snatching his holster off the dresser, throwing it over his shoulder and securing his pistol at his side. Then he slid his vest on over it. "Ya hungry baby?" Candice asked. "Lemme make ya some breakfast."

"I gotta hit the road, darlin'," he said. "Got things to take care of."

That was lie. There was nothing pressing he had to do right that second. He just wanted to get away from her. But he wasn't about to be rude to her and tell her to fuck off. She hadn't done anything to deserve it really. She was good to him, would wait on him hand and foot if he wanted. He just...well, he just didn't want it. That was the plain and simple truth of the matter. He just didn't want Candice. She crawled out of bed as he pulled his hair back and braided down his back, and as he tied his rag around his head she was slipping her arms around him from behind. "Candice, I gotta go," he said, gently disentangling her from him as he spoke.

"Wontchya stay just a little longer," she pleaded. "Please?"

"Cause I gotta shit I gotta do," he insisted. "Now get off me."

"Billy please-"

"I said let go goddammit!" he snapped and she backed away.

She folded her arms and pouted at him, and while he might have a guilty conscience otherwise, the face she made at him didn't work this time around. It was the same song and dance as every time before. Candice would cling to him and beg him to stay, offer to make him breakfast or love on him some more, try to tempt him back into her bed with a blow job or a back rub, something, anything, to get him to stay. But he never did. Hell, that was even if he stayed the night. More often than not he didn't stick around afterwards. She knew she couldn't force him to stay, or even commit to her, so she'd poke and prod at him anyway she could get away with.

And since she could never get him to stay, she'd just turn her sights to the next available man until he came crawling back. Be they a member, or just some brainless shit she met at some house party. Make up excuses, tell him they didn't mean anything to her, or they were 'just a friend'. She held no loyalty to him whatsoever. It was one of the reasons he couldn't stand her. He hated women that were so goddamn easy like that. A man couldn't depend on a woman like that, couldn't count her to be there for him when he needed her, if she couldn't even wait for him before she spread her legs for someone else. 

She might jump at the chance to wear a jacket that said 'P.O. The Kid' on the back, but she would never earn it. 

She'd never be anything more than a whore in his eyes.

He snorted in mild disbelief at the sulking look she gave him, before he turned and left without so much as a kiss, let alone a farewell.

He rode his Indian across town to Nyxon's.

Nyx and his old lady lived in a garage apartment paid for by the club, close to the river that ran right through the downtown area. On paper they owned the building, but unofficially it was club property, since Nyx's mortgage payments came out of the treasury. His woman, Liz, was not only his wife on paper, but his Lady in the club too, and she pulled her weight among the Pagans not only by working the bar at Prunty's, but also by coaching the girls that wandered in off the street looking to fall in with the members in some fashion or other, teaching them the tricks of the trade. Everybody called Nyx and Liz the 'Lovebirds' because even now, after all these years, they were still madly in love.

Nyxon was so fucking paranoid about some asshole messing with his bike that he only ever kept it in the garage, never parked it on the street, and instead Liz's car occupied the adjacent parking space. Nyx was an old fashioned rider, and he never took off that Treasurer's vest, not even in his own home. To shower, or sleep, and not much else. He answered the door with it on, unlit cigarette pinched between his lips, and groaned at the sight of Billy on his doorstep. "Oh hell," he said. "The fuck do you want?" he asked and Billy chuckled. So did Nyx.

"What's goin' on, brother," he greeted.

"Not much man. Come on in." He opened the door wider for Billy. "Liz just made some pancakes. Ya hungry?"

"Hell yeah I'm starvin'," he sighed.

He walked in the living room just as Liz walked in fron the kitchen. "Billy!" she grinned at him and sidled up to him for a hug and pecked his cheek with a kiss. "How ya doin' baby?" she asked. 

"Real good now," he quipped and she chuckled at him. Nyx just rolled his eyes.

"Come on in the kitchen an' get yourself somethin' ta eat," she offered and both men followed her to the table and sat down just as she set a stack of pancakes in the middle, followed by a bottle of maple syrup, and a tub of butter. She set down silverware so they could dig in and poured them each a cup of coffee, then she joined them at the table to make herself a plate. Billy couldn't help but truly act like a kid and dueled Nyx's fork with his own for the last pancake, making him curse Billy under his breath when he managed to snatch it up, grinning. Liz snorted at them both as she drizzled syrup on her plate.

"So what brings you by, little brother?" Nyxon asked him after they'd had a few bites each.

He paused to wipe his mouth with the paper towel Liz had given him and said, "Gotta ask a favor of your ol' lady." Liz lifted a brow, curious at that. He turned to her in his seat. "I need a jacket."

"A jacket," she repeated. He nodded.

"Yep. A jacket. Denim or somethin' like that. It's too hot right now I think for a leather one. She'd sweat ta death in that shit. But I reckon she's about your size, so I was wonderin' if you mighta had somethin."

"Wait hold on a minute...She?"

"Yeah."

"Oh hell," Nyx groaned. "Ya ain't gonna make that Candice bitch your ol' lady now are ya?" 

Billy snorted. "Nah. She ain't a Hunnie. Just a girl. But she'll freeze to death on the back o' my bike, so I'm gonna fix her up right. Get her a helmet too."

"Alright, ya have my attention," Liz stated, setting down her fork. "Who's the girl?"

He paused before answering. "Her name's Tessa," he spoke. "I'm just droppin' her off at work, cause she ain't gotta ride right now."

Nyx lifted a brow, but otherwise had no real interest in the current topic of conversation, because the only pair of tits he wanted in his face were Liz's, so he stuffed his face with another mouthful of buttery pancakes and made no comment. But Liz, on the other hand, was entirely too invested now. "How'd ya meet her?" she asked, lips upturned in a playful smile.

He stuffed another forkful of pancakes in his mouth too, just to prolong having to answer that. 

When he swallowed, he said, "It's Roxanne's little girl."

Nyx coughed, and Liz's eyes widened. 

"You've gotta be shittin' me," she said. 

"She gotta daughter?" Nyx asked, and he nodded, but Liz was already in an uproar. 

"It's Candice all over again," she sighed. "Ain't you already learned your lesson?"

Billy rolled his eyes. "It ain't like that. I ain't fuckin' her. I'm just tryna help her out. Besides, she's of age. It aint like it was with Candice. She's twenty, Liz. Not sixteen. You know I aint no fuckin' baby raper."

"I know, but that girl was fuckin' trouble, Billy. Still is, if ya ask me. Only ya can't get arrested for it no more."

"I aint fuckin' that bitch no more either," he lied. Though he probably wouldn't. He was getting tired of the little game they played. She was just an aggravation nowadays. A thorn in his side he couldn't get rid of. But he didn't have to keep going back to her. He could set his sights somewhere else from now on, if he ever got that desperate again. It wouldn't matter who's body lay naked underneath him. He'd be picturing Tessa now, no doubt about it. That sweet little baby girl was in his head now, and he had a feeling there would be no shaking her anytime soon. At least until he found a sweeter honey pot. But he wasn't looking for one just yet.

"So, Roxy's little girl, huh?" Liz asked and he nodded again. "She anything like her momma?"

He gave her the same answer Snake gave him to such a question.

"Not so far as I can tell."

Nyx snorted. "Well ay-fucking-men to that," he quipped. "One is bad enough. Don't need two of em runnin' around."

Billy chuckled, nodding in agreement. "Just don't ever let Snake hear ya say shit like that," he said. "Roxy's his woman now."

Liz groaned a little. 

"Well, there goes the neighborhood," she grumbled and Billy laughed before stuffing his face with another bite of her delicious cooking.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of rape (past tense) in this chapter

Roxanne stopped at the pharmacy and picked up her prescription before heading to the Cornerstone.

She set the paper bag with its pharmaceutical tag stapled to the side in the glove box of her car, then forgot it even existed.

She thought about what happened that morning with Tessa the whole drive to the bar, thinking maybe she shouldn't have slapped her quite so hard. The last thing she needed was for Tessa to call the cops on her with Snake staying in her house and keeping needles in the bedroom. But that stupid little girl just had to go raising her voice at Roxanne and it pissed her off. Acted like she was so entitled. Like she was any better than any other woman, which she wasn't. Wanted to act like she was too good to walk on that road when Roxanne herself used to walk on that road when she was younger. Picked up a lot of customers that way.

Men would see a helpless little female, stuck walking down that long narrow stretch of highway in heels, feet aching and thumb jutted out, hoping to hitchhike the last quarter mile to her daddy's house, and they'd feel sorry for her, so they'd try to pick her up. Sometimes she ran across semi decent men that only just wanted to help her out and were disgusted to find out she was a hooker when she'd proposition them. They'd fuck her in a heart beat, every last one of them, but were trying to get right with God or some shit, so they'd kick her out of their car. Sometimes she get lucky and get a man that was not above that kind of thing.

Only once did a man ever try to rape her, so she'd kicked him in the face with her stiletto and scrambled out of the car, but she couldn't imagine anything like that happening to Tessa. Poor girl wasn't much to look at, and while it was true that most men only had one thing on their mind, no man would try to fuck her when they had something better at home. Tessa would have better luck heading out to Prunty's and throwing herself at the Pagans if she wanted a man. Snake's lot weren't choosy about their women, and most would take any slut to bed with them, long as she was willing and they didn't have to pay for it.

That's why nobody liked Roxanne hanging around Prunty's Bar. The old ladies didn't like her because she was far more attractive than any of those fat whores put together, and while some of the men were willing to fork up the cash to get something hot and desirable for a change, most didn't want to have to pay for what they felt they should have the right to take for free. That's what girls at Prunty's usually offered, free pussy for any man wearing a patch on his vest, in exchange for privilege and favoritism among the members, and some women were just sluts that liked to fuck so they'd give it up too. But that wasn't Roxanne.

True, that she'd been the biggest slut to ever walk in that bar, and she'd fuck anything with legs really, but that what was inspired her to be a hooker in the first place, rather than be somebody's old lady instead. She liked sex, so she might as well get something out of it. She also liked the idea of being in control over her own money, and making her own destiny, rather than let some old man boss her around and tell her what to do day in and day out. So the very first time one of the non-members wandered in and offered her money in exchange for a blow job, she didn't say no, didn't correct his assumption that she was a prostitute either. She just went with it.

She got away with it for awhile, offering herself to Prospects and non-members as an alternative to the sleazy little Hunnies that flocked, kissing up to the men and spreading their legs, hoping to impress the Pagans by showing their willingness to give it up to anyone. She'd kept the Ladies off her back by giving them a cut of her profits. But when their men started to rouse, and more and more of the members were ignoring their wives in favor of chasing after Roxanne, that's when trouble started. She'd made the mistake of running her mouth to one of the P.O.s and telling her that her man wouldn't be chasing her if his old lady weren't so fat, ugly and useless and that was a mistake.

Ladies were expected to hold themselves to a higher standard than Hunnies, which was how they earned the title. They exclusively fucked members and turned other men away, never disrespected their men, and never talked down to other Ladies either. But Roxanne was no Lady, she was owed no respect like they were, so when she backtalked Barbara Walker, more affectionately known as "Babs" among the Pagans, the feisty whore bitch smacked Roxanne across the face without a regret. She couldn't get mad at her old man for fucking around with Roxanne when Pagans were free to do as they damn well pleased when Captain still ran the show, but she could sure as hell take it out on Roxy.

Did it right in front of the President too, who didn't say a word in her defense, and that had been Roxanne Middleton's downfall.

It was the beginning of the end of her days hanging around Prunty's.

She stayed away from members that were tied down to a woman after that, and stuck to the ones that didn't have old ladies. She lost her favor among some of the men, and since she turned down members, she lost her status as a Hunnie too. Not that she had ever really cared about that, but she lost all favor with the women, and was fair game as far as they were concerned. She was harassed by them almost constantly whenever she came in. Members wouldn't say a word about it either. Only once did a man ever intervene. A Pagan named Snake Eyes, who'd been Vice President at the time, had calmed down a wrathful Lady and told Roxanne to scram.

Snake didn't have an old lady, but he'd never showed her any kind of favor before, so she was rather surprised by his actions, when he'd held Liz back and said, "You'd better hit the road, baby doll, before you make shit worse for yourself." Snake was fiercely loyal to Captain too, so she was doubly surprised he'd take up for her when Captain gave the Ladies permission to slap her around if they felt like it. He wasn't the nicest of men either. The pistol he stuffed in the back of his pants and hid under that vest of his wasn't just for show. He'd earned his patch by serving ten years in prison for attempted murder, and not just because he took the fall for another member.

He'd shot the white collared son of a bitch he was after his damned self, at Captain's orders, and proudly served his time.

Roxanne didn't like him much, but he'd pulled up along side her that night as she was walking home, and offered her a ride. Had her heart racing the minute she jumped on and instead of taking her home, he took her to an economy hotel out by the interstate and offered her cash. Pulled a wad of it out of his pocket, enough money to have the whole night to do whatever the fuck he wanted to her, at Roxanne's usual rate. But only asked for a blow job. She gave him a good one. Then after, he told her if she ever needed money to come see him. They could work out a deal. She had no intention of tying herself down to Snake, but she'd agreed to let him pay for sex if he wanted.

She stayed away from other Pagans, and only fucked with Snake on occasion after that. With the price he was willing to pay just for a blow job, she wouldn't need any other member. Any other man at all. But she fucked them anyway. Things were alright for a while after that, at least until Captain got involved. He'd taken a liking to Roxanne too, but he was a much different kind of man to deal with. The only man to ever truly terrify Roxanne. There was no one more despicable in her eyes. Even for club standards, and the bar was already set pretty low. But Captain had pulled her aside one night, told her he'd heard Snake talking about her to the boys.

Snake had been telling some of the members she gave such good head he'd cut off his right arm to have her as his old lady. Captain heard what was said and got curious. Told her Ladies were expected to fuck the President regardless of who they belonged to, anytime he asked, and anytime he wanted. She told him she wasnt wasn't trying to be anybody's old lady, but if he paid her good she'd give him a taste of what Snake got from her. It pissed him off. Said a man like him shouldn't have to pay for it. She'd said, "Well then you just ain't gettin' it then." She never should've turned him down. Had she just been willing to put out for him, maybe things would've been different.

He'd raped her that night. 

He took what he wanted from her regardless, and beat her black and blue. Afterwards he told her that she'd better not set foot in Prunty's ever again unless she was willing to put out, because he'd just take it anyway. If he ever caught her taking money from anyone, be they a member or some lowlife off the street, and charging money for what she should be willing to give free of charge, like the other women did, he'd cave her face in. He threw her out the back door and left her bleeding in the back lot. One of the members found her and told her she got what she deserved. She never told a soul what happened to her, she was no snitch, and she never set foot in Prunty's after that.

Started working at a bar that opened up called Lancasters. A white collared bar. Bikers weren't welcome in the establishment. 

It was the one and only time she'd ever seen Snake take off his vest, the night he'd entered Lancasters, dressed in only his flannel shirt, faded jeans, and leather boots, paying his way inside to see her. She wasn't as scared of him as she was of Captain, there was just something about his easy going smile that disarmed her, and seeing as they weren't at Prunty's and he didn't have his pistol, couldn't get away with shit at Lancasters without having the police to deal with like he could at any Pagan's bar, she cussed him out without fear of repercussion. She didn't tell him what Captain did, but she told him what Captain said to her. 

That night he warned her Captain was going to come see her soon, try to bully her into putting out for him whenever he wanted, maybe threaten her too, because he liked her so much, and wanted another taste of her. Captain had always been obsessed with her, and now that he knew how good it was, it was in her best interest to just stay home. Told her not to come to work that following night, and under no circumstances was she to set foot in that establishment. She didn't even know why he cared at all, when his ass was the one to get her in trouble with Captain in the first place, to her way of thinking.

But the very next night Captain showed up at Lancasters, got involved in a shootout with some local men, shot them dead, and was apprehended by the police. 

He now served a triple life sentance for murder in maximum security prison.

Roxanne knew it wasn't a coincidence.

Captain had been set up, but no one would ever know how. As far as anyone knew, it was a dope deal gone wrong. His associates wanted him out of the picture, and had waited to catch him alone, away from Prunty's and anyone that would have his back. So when he went to see Roxanne that night, the men he'd been dealing heroin with on the side sent in their dogs, and they shot up the place. They were supposed to kill Captain and any witnesses, but they didn't count on him being armed, let alone such a crackshot with that Colt .45 tucked under his shirt. He'd killed all but one man, who police found in the back lot, stabbed to death by an unknown assailant, so he couldn't talk.

Roxanne never said a word about Snake warning her to stay away. 

Captain being sentanced to life in prison had been one of the happiest moments of her life.

Best to keep her head down and her mouth shut about shit she shouldn't be knowing.

She flashed back to those days as she drove herself to work, and then thought about Snake's proposal to take care of her. Give her anything she needed, not just dope. Said things were different now that Captain was out of the picture. But she couldn't be sure if they'd be any better now that Snake was acting president of the Pagans. She didn't know if she could trust him any more than she trusted the next man. She knew things about that man that would get her killed if she ever talked, and Snake was just as ruthless as they come. But there was one thing she could be certain of, that always stuck in her mind whenever she questioned Snake's motives.

If not for Snake warning her Captain was coming, she would've been at Lancasters that night.

She wouldn't be alive right now to tell about it either.

That wasn't a coincidence, that was Snake's doing.

Maybe she owed it to the man to be good to him, to be more than just the occasional fuck.

But she couldn't let her simple minded daughter do anything to fuck this up for her either.

Because men like Snake Eyes were just as dangerous as their namesake, and if one wrong move was made...

Game over for Roxy.


	17. Chapter 17

Roxanne didn't have cable, so with nothing better to do that day, Snake entertained himself by watching Tessa clean the house. It unnerved her, the way he stared as he kicked back in the recliner, smoking a cigarette while Tessa cleaned the cobwebs out of the corners with a broom, dusted the shelves, straightened up the mess on the coffee table, and even vacuumed the floor. Then she took the curtains down so she could clean the windows with a bottle of Windex. She did her best to pretend he wasn't there, but it was difficult, because every time she entered the room his eyes followed her every move, like a cat watching a mouse. 

But she got a break once finishing the living room. She moved back to the kitchen and scrubbed the floor thoroughly. They didn't have a mop, as the month before Roxanne had gotten mad enough to hit her with it, and it broke clean in two. She'd yet to buy another one, they just didn't have the money, so Tessa got down on her hands and knees with a bucket of soapy water and a scrub brush to clean it. She was halfway done when Snake found her like that, scratched his head at her, then said, "Little girl, wontchya take a break from cleanin' and come sit down. You ain't stopped since ya got up this mornin'." 

"I-I'm fine," she stammered, and continued scrubbing. 

"Tessa," he said more sternly and she froze. "Get up and go sit down."

She set the brush in the bucket and got to her feet. Then she followed him to the living room and gingerly sat down on the couch while he flopped back down on the recliner. She realized just how tired she was when she sat down, and watched Snake recline back in the seat and roll a joint. He didn't say anything, so neither did she, and the house was quiet for a time, all but for the sounds of her mother's boyfriend crumbling bits of weed to roll up inside a paper and smoke. He wasn't quite so intense as the day before. Just stern, like what Tessa imagined a real father would be like.

Tessa never desired a father figure. Most of the girls she knew in school never had good relationships with their fathers anyway, and Tessa considered herself lucky she didn't have one to fret about. With the kind of men her mother brought home, she certainly didn't want any of those men being her step-father. She didn't think she'd like the idea of Snake filling that role either, but at least he wasn't violent. She couldn't stand the silence between them, so after watching him light up the joint in his hand and taking a few puffs, she finally found the courage to speak, nervously brushed her hair behind her ear, and asked, "Why do they call ya Snake Eyes?"

It said it on the back of his vest. Just like Billy's, Snake's own denim vest had his nickname on it, along with the Pagans symbol, but instead of saying VP his had a patch sewn to the bottom on the back that said 'President'. As far as she knew about that kind of thing, that meant to say he was the leader of the Pagans, and if Billy was Vice President, that meant Billy was Snake's second in command. Snake considered her question for a minute, but before she could even gauge whether or not it was a terrible question to ask, he smirked a little and said, "Because that's the only kinda luck a man has when he crosses me."

Maybe what he implied meant to be intimidating in someway, meaning the only kind of luck a man would have if he crossed paths with Snake would be bad luck, but rather than get frightened, Tessa could only wrinkle her brow in confusion, wondering what that had to do with his name.

"I don't get it," she said. "What does snakes gotta do with luck?"

She didn't know what she'd been expecting from the man, but she certainly didn't expect him to stare at her for a second before slowly breaking into a laugh in sheer disbelief. It startled her. She'd never heard him laugh like that before. Maybe other people knew what it meant, but Tessa herself certainly didn't know. She hadn't expected Snake to laugh at her either. "You are entirely too precious, little girl," he commented with a sigh. Then he shifted in the chair to pull two die from his pocket, rolling the dice in his palm. "Ever seen gamblin' men in the movies?" He asked and she nodded. 

He leaned over and dropped the dice on the end table between them. 

She watched it land on double ones, and the two little black dots looked like a pair of eyes. 

"That roll is what they call snake eyes, and it's a bad roll to make."

"Oh," she said. "Does that mean they lose?"

He nodded. She stared at the dice on the table. It creeped her out a little how he was able to roll the very thing he'd been talking about.

"How did you do that?" she asked. "How'd ya roll them snake eyes like that?"

He chuckled a little. "The dice are loaded."

"But...ain't that cheatin'? Ya don't give nobody a fair chance if they lose every time like that."

He just smiled and said, "That's 'cause I don't gamble with my life, baby doll," he told her. "That's one chance on a man I'll never take." He flipped the leg rest down and leaned forward in the chair, pulling a gun from the back of his pants, her heart pounded in her ears when she saw it. It was much like Billy's pistol, but slightly differed in design. It was a pretty gun in truth, shined like silver and had a small green and gold viper painted on the handle of it. Her palms started sweating, but all he did was take out the clip and lay it on the table, then emptied the bullet he kept in the chamber into his palm. Then he set the unloaded weapon on the coffee table.

It wasn't the gun that frightened her; nearly everyone in the county was packing. In these parts, it was odd for a man to not have a gun on his hip. But it was the man that puffed on the joint in his hand one last time before putting it out in the ashtray and pointing at the empty pistol between them. "Good men are hard to come by," he said. "These days they're few and far between. Men you can trust not ta stab ya in the back? Even harder to find. So I never take a man just at his word. But I always give them one chance before I draw my gun on 'em. If he picks a fight with me, he'd better be ready to kill me." 

Quickly he snatched up the gun and snapped the clip back in place, loading one in the chamber, making her jump.

"Because I don't lose," he finished.

She swallowed. "I'd hate to be the one that ever pissed you off," she commented and he chuckled again.

He flipped the safety back on, then stuffed the pistol back in his belt and leaned back in the seat. Then he snatched up the dice on the end table, and said, "I don't think a sweet little thing like you ever could."

They shared a look for a moment, before Tessa could no longer stand the intensity of his stare and looked away.

She didn't quite believe his words, but she made no comment. Though she wondered if he'd ever hurt a woman before. If he was the type to fire his pistol at another man, maybe even kill them if he had to, how likely was he to fire his gun at a female? Would he be abusive to them? Roxanne was a tough woman, much stronger than Tessa, and she'd delt with men like Snake her whole life, but might she need to worry for her mother's safety with a man like him? "Ya ain't gonna hurt my momma are ya?" she asked him. Unbelievably, he snorted, like it was silly to ask such a question in the first place.

"No," he said, looking her right in the eye when he did. "I ain't gonna touch your momma."

"She ain't nice to people," Tessa said. "People say that all the time about her. Say all she ever does is run her mouth about things, and one of these days she's gonna piss off the wrong person."

He nodded at that, like it wasn't really news to him, and it probably wasn't. He did say she was nothing but trouble after all. But then he said, "She's a complicated woman. I probably don't have to tell you though. Can see for yourself. But she ain't had an easy life. She had to learn the hard way how tough this world can be on a person. That's why she don't take no shit from people. Men and women alike. They get in her face, run their mouth at her, she just runs it right back. She don't let people walk all over her, she does what she wants, lives her life how she wants to, and ta hell what people think. Not too many men can stand a woman like that." He smiled a little. "But I suppose I'm one troubled bastard 'cause that's what I like about her the most."

Tessa blinked a few times. Snake liked the fact that she back talked men and didn't let them tell her how to live her life? Well if he liked women like that, maybe that's why they were together then.

"How long have you known my momma?"

"Several years now."

"How'd ya end up with her?"

He chuckled. "Cause she pissed off the wrong man," he answered enigmatically and she tilted her head in confusion. But that was all he said about it though. He changed the subject with, "Ya gotta work today, little girl?" Tessa didn't think it wise to harp on the subject of her mother, so she nodded.

"At four o' clock. Billy offered me a ride. He don't want me walkin' down that road."

He smiled. "Billy's a good man," he said. She didn't necessarily agree. She had a feeling her definition of a 'good man' and Snake's were too very different and unrelated things. But she kept her mouth shut and just nodded her head. "Ya like 'em?"

"Yeah he's alright," she mumbled with a shrug, picking at her nails. "Seems nice."

"He likes ya too," Snake commented, reaching for another cigarette. He lit it and took a long drag from it, then exhaled and said, "Good woman like you is just what my brother needs. The kind that'll treat a man right, take care good care of em too." Tessa fidgeted uncomfortably. She didn't know anything about how to take care of a man like Billy the Kid, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. All she knew about men like them was what they were after. "You're a good girl, Tessa," Snake told her. "Do a fine job of takin' care of your mother an' this house. Any man'd be lucky to have a sweet woman like you."

"Thank you," she mumbled. Then she glanced at the clock above the tv. "Reckon it's about lunchtime," she said. "I'll make ya somethin' ta eat."

He chuckled at her. "Much obliged, little girl," he said. 

She nodded and rose from the couch, letting out a small sigh once alone in the kitchen, then pulled sandwich items from the fridge.

Faintly she could hear Snake humming from in the living room, but she couldn't recall what song it was.


	18. Chapter 18

At 3 pm a red Indian could be heard slowly rumbling up the driveway, pull to a stop next to Snake's Harley and shut off as Billy had arrived to give Tessa a lift to work. She was upstairs showering when he let himself in. After she'd dressed, blowdried her hair, and threw it up in a ponytail, she came downstairs to see him kicked back on the couch, shooting the breeze with Snake. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and a grin slowly spread across his face. She didn't like the way that smile of his made her feel hot all over, but she did her best to have a pleasant air about her and put on a friendly smile.

"Ready ta hit the road, baby girl?" he asked, and she nodded.

Billy didn't notice, as he'd risen from the couch and headed toward the door, but Tessa didn't fail to miss the ghost of a smile on Snake's face, and the knowing look in his eyes, as he watched the two of them leave.

She followed Billy outside and watched him start his bike. Then she watched him reach into one of the tassled leather saddlebags lashed to the back and resting just above the tail pipes. He pulled out a helmet similar to his but smaller, and handed it to her. Just like his it was a black half helmet, the kind that just covered the head but not the face, with two straps coming down from above and below where her ears would be and threading together to make one strap that fastened beneath her chin. He showed her how to buckle it, then straddled his bike and told her, "Hop on."

She did as told and hauled herself onto the back seat behind him, doing her best to ignore how good it felt to have him resting between her legs.

The helmet was comfortable enough, and with it on she felt a little safer with Billy. She was surprised he'd even bother with a helmet. She figured outlaws like Billy and Snake wouldn't give a damn, but with the way they enforced the helmet law nowadays, she couldn't blame them for going along with it. No helmet on a motorcycle was a sure fire way to get pulled over by the cops, and if they weren't in the Pagans' pockets, not only would they be pulled over, but possibly searched. If Billy was a convicted felon, it was unlawful for him to carry that pistol hidden beneath his vest. Not to mention what other illegal things he might be carrying.

She tried not to think about it as they rode to the Exxon. But it gave her all the more reason to avoid entertaining the idea of ever sleeping with him. When he pulled into the parking lot of the gas station and she hopped off, then unbuckled the strap to her helmet, she expected Billy to wave goodbye, but instead he shut off his bike and followed her into the store. While she set her helmet and purse in the office, clocked in, then started counting up her drawer, he milled about the store just like any other customer, browsing the snacks and drinks, fingers looped in the strap of his helmet. Oblivious to the way her manager eyed him with suspicion like he was about to rob the place.

Then she sidled up to Tessa, muttering quietly, "The hell are doin' bringin' a man like that in here? Huh? Dontchya know all them Pagans is nothin' but lawless bastards, beatin' on women and rapin' em an' shit? The fuck are you doin' on the back of his bike?"

Tessa's jaw clenched. "He ain't like that," she told Carla. At least she hoped he wasn't. "He's just a friend of my momma's boyfriend. He's just givin' me a ride."

"You're better off stayin' far away from men like that, Tessa," she warned.

Tessa wouldn't normally backtalk one of her managers, but she really didn't like the way Carla was sticking her nose in Tessa's business, and besides, he wasn't causing any trouble. He was just looking at the chocolate bars on the shelves, then after picking the candy he wanted, moved back to the drinks to open the door and reach for a 20 oz bottle of Coca-Cola. The most he might do was try to sweet talk his way out of having to pay for it, Tessa was certain. Maybe expect free snacks and drinks in return for giving her rides. Or maybe he just thought he could charm her with that winsome smile of his. Maybe he was quite used to women falling for it.

She turned and murmured to Carla, "Ya gonna start givin' me rides to work for free? Cause he ain't chargin' me no gas money."

Carla snorted. "Girl you are dumb," she said. "Men like that don't do jack shit without expectin' ta get somethin' out of it." But after she said that she turned back to the newspaper she'd been reading, though she kept a quiet eye on Billy the whole time.

He walked up to the counter and laid the items in front of her. As she rang them up for him, he asked, "Ya gonna give me a discount, baby girl?"

"I can't do that," she said. "I ain't supposed ta let customers use my employee discount."

"Damn," he cursed, snapping his fingers, but he was still smiling. Then he reached in his back pocket for his wallet. He was willing to pay for it.

"But I can buy it for ya," she told him.

"I was just messin', baby girl," he said, starting to pull out a twenty dollar bill to hand to her.

"No it's alright," she said, shaking her head. "I don't mind. A little candy and a pop in exchange for a ride ain't too much ta ask."

She totaled up the items and tapped the cash button, typing in the amount, then closed the register. She'd get the money from her purse and put it in later. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Carla nearby shaking her head in disapproval. "Thank ya, darlin'," Billy said to her, putting his wallet away, and Tessa smiled at him. He snatched up the candy and the drink from the counter, then tipped his head to her. "I'll see ya tonight," he said and she nodded. She watched him walk out, straddle his bike and start it up, put his helmet on, then when he was good and ready, she watched him pull away through the glass door.

Carla didn't say another word about him, thankfully.

But she wasn't entirely wrong about men like him.

Throughout the day Tessa looked some things up on her phone when there were no customers, or wasn't any work to be done. Scrolled through news articles and arrests involving the Pagans motorcycle club of her hometown and almost wished she hadn't started digging in the first place. What she found did not paint a pretty picture of their lifestyle. She found several mugshots of various members, and included among them were Billy and Snake. Billy had been arrested for assault and battery on several occasions, served a two year sentance for arson, and had even been the suspect of an unsolved murder case, though they could never pin it on him.

But the victim, a male in his mid thirties at the time of the shooting, had been gunned down at close range by what might've been a handgun not unlike Billy's own. There was no evidence at the scene, no finger prints, boot prints or fibers, no casings found either and the bullet had been removed, but based on what the city police department's ballistics lab uncovered, the gun mostly like used was a semi automatic pistol, and the last person he'd been seen alive with was a known member of the Pagans named William H. Davenport, better known as "Billy", or "Billy the Kid." But the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence, or M.O.

Snake's picture was even uglier. Not his mugshot though. It was an older report, from about twenty years ago, and in the picture he looked quite handsome, but he was smiling, like he was having himself a grand old time being charged with attempted murder. According to the news article, he'd rode up alongside a man on the street, pulled out his pistol, shot the man twice, then took off down the road. Interestingly the man survived the shooting, otherwise the charge would've been first degree murder, but Snake was apprehended later that night at Prunty's Bar, having matched the description witnesses had given. That wasn't the only thing he'd done either. He'd been busted for possession and intended distribution of narcotics.

Heroin, to be precise.

He refused to give police any information about where he got it from, or give up any of the Pagans as his accomplices. He wasn't a snitch. He served another prison sentance for that one too. There were some other members either arrested for or accused of various crimes. Like Barney Stevens, better known as "Knoxville". He'd been in a slue of bar fights, and there was even a domestic charge. It had been filed by his wife, Danielle. He'd hit her in the ribcage with a tire iron. But the case was dropped. It was on a technicality, but Tessa assumed it was because they'd paid off the Sheriff's Department. 

Tessa studied his mugshot and decided for herself that he must've been guilty.

He was one cold, heartless looking man, not repentant in the least.

But the one that scared her the most was Robert P. Morrison, better known as "Captain".

His mugshot gave her chills. He didn't smile like he was proud of what he'd done, nor did he sneer like he'd been angry at the time the photo was taken, but rather his expression was blank, and there was a coldness to him that made her uncomfortable to even look at that face. Surely the man's soul must've been black as night. She was certain after reading what he'd done. Coincidently, he'd shot up the bar her mother used to work at. Lancasters. There were other prior arrests, and he'd been the suspect of many unsolved cases, but this one he hadn't managed to get out of. He was currently serving a prison sentence for it. He'd shot and killed three men that night, and allegedly stabbed a forth.

There were others that were killed at the bar that night, the handful of witnesses that had been there, but the murders had been pinned on the deceased. Morrison, the former President of the Pagans MC, was found on the scene with the murder weapon on his person, was tried and convicted on three accounts of first degree murder, for which he now served a life sentance for each. He wasn't getting out anytime soon, but a more recent report mentioned he was trying to appeal to the supreme court to have his case reopened. He swore that the men he shot were sent to kill him and he'd only acted in self defense. He'd still be looking at prison time, but was hoping to get his life sentance reduced.

The further Tessa read about these men, the less and less she liked Billy, but he confused her.

If he was really such a bad man, why was he trying to be helpful to her?

And what did he expect in return for his kindness?

Did he really only want soda and a candy bar out of the deal?

When Billy pulled into the gas station that night, Tessa's heart was racing. Her manager said nothing to her, just helped her close the store, then quickly headed to her car. Tessa put on her helmet, but before she could hop on, Billy handed her a denim jacket and said, "Here put this on, baby girl." 

"Why?"

He snorted. "Cause ya nearly froze last night when we were ridin' back." He pointed to the jacket she clutched. "That way ya don't get cold again."

"Thank you."

He just smiled and nodded at her as she slipped on the jacket then climbed on the bike. It was a decent fit, and once Billy sped up to 55 miles per hour on the highway, it did feel a lot better than just her work shirt alone. After a while he placed his hands over hers again to warm them up as they coasted down a straight stretch. She just didn't get it. How was it that a man convicted of such heinous crimes could be so sweet? Take away the vest and the pistol tucked beneath it, and Billy might almost seem like a somewhat decent man. Maybe a bit of a pervert, but what man wasn't really? 

But once she thought about those crimes he'd committed, and what it really meant to wear a denim vest with the Pagans logo on it, it changed her perspective on all of it.

Once she considered the possibility that the pistol he carried wasn't just for show, and maybe he wasn't called Billy the Kid for no good reason...

Her stomached dropped on the back of the Indian when they pulled up in front of her mother's house to see it wasn't bereft of people, but packed wall to wall full of them. Cars, trucks and motorcycles cluttered up the driveway, forcing Billy to park in the yard, propping his bike on the center stand since the kickstand would sink in the dirt and the bike would keel over. Snake or her mother or both had decided to throw a house party. She could only imagine the kind of people inside. Billy looked amused and strolled inside like he owned the place, searching for Snake and a beer. Tessa hurriedly ran upstairs, hoping to avoid anyone. 

She knocked on her mother's bedroom door.

"Momma? Momma you in there?" She heard a muffled sound and opened the door. "Momma what are all these people doin'...here..."

She'd opened the door to see Roxanne with a needle in her arm, eyes rolled back as the liquid flowed into her veins. Looked like a heroin needle. Whatever it was, it was certainly no insulin shot for diabetes she'd forgotten to mention she had, and suddenly everything made sense in Tessa's mind. The whole reason why she was keeping Snake around to 'take care' of her. He was supplying her dope habit. Her mother was a junkie. She slowly pulled the door shut and slinked to her bedroom to hide, locking her door and hiding under the covers. She curled into the fetal position a sobbed. Her mother had brought drug dealing murderers into their home.

All because she was just a drug using whore.

She was not the woman Tessa thought she was, not at all, and Tessa's life could not have been more of a nightmare at the moment.


	19. Chapter 19

[Brick's Faceclaim](https://66.media.tumblr.com/1808a65bf736e4f6a632734a40b08c0b/14b6f449333f6b5e-ee/s640x960/5916b9b719dfd2184d950896be7aeea14ff686ed.jpg)

Tessa was scared.

She knew she couldn't go to the cops. She knew what kinds of bad things would happen. But she didn't have anyone else to turn to either. She was trapped in her own house, while her mother lay in her bedroom shooting heroin, letting God only knew what kinds of people roam their house. While loud rock music played and voices shouted over top of the music to be heard. While downstairs people drank and partied, doing only God knew what else. Tessa lay in her bed, kept awake by the noise, tears streaming down her cheeks when it finally hit her how her mother had been lying to her for all these years about where her money went.

This was the reason they were always broke, why they were barely staying afloat even though Roxanne made all that extra money servicing men.

It wasn't because her tips were lowzy.

It was because she spent all of their money on drugs.

Snake wasn't caring for her. He was keeping her doped up on heroin to keep her under his thumb. Roxanne didn't care about him either. She only wanted his drugs.

Hell, maybe Billy was involved in all of it too. Maybe that's why Snake had his heart set on the two of them being involved. Maybe he'd been intent on turning her into a drug whore too, and he'd eventually pimp her out to Billy after getting her hooked on drugs. Her mind raced with all the spiraling thoughts of what her mother had gotten them both involved in, and pretty soon her head was pounding too, with all the noise and exhaustion from lack of proper sleep. The Tylenol was in the kitchen, which meant she'd have to brave the downstairs if she wanted it, and she didn't want to be near any of those people, so she stayed upstairs and suffered.

When she woke up the next morning the house was empty, for the most part. But there was a huge mess left for Tessa to clean up. Her mother was still in bed, but she went downstairs to find Billy had stayed over, and that he and Snake were crowded around the kitchen table with a third person, sitting and talking. The third person was a younger man, maybe close to her in age. She vaguely recognized him, and figured she probably went to school with him, though maybe they weren't in the same grade. He had a shock of blonde hair that was kind of long, but his facial hair was more scruff than anything close to a full beard.

He had a vest too, so she assumed he was either a Prospect of the club, or a newly sworn in Pagan, because he was so young.

She didn't feel like being so polite to Snake and his friends this time around, so with a scowl on her face Tessa ambled over to the coffee pot, not saying a word. "Hey pretty lady," Billy cooed at her, and if she had no sense of propriety whatsoever she would've flipped him the bird over her shoulder as she passed, but she didn't. Instead she just ignored him and reached into the cabinet for the can of coffee and bag of coffee filters. "Uh oh," he mumbled. "Somebody had a bad night." If he only he knew the half of it. She was a little too agitated at the moment and it caused her to spill some of the coffee grounds, then slap the lid down on the coffee pot just a little too hard.

"The noise must've kept her awake," Snake commented as she started a pot of coffee.

"Sorry 'bout that, baby," Billy told her, to which she rolled her eyes while her back was turned. If they were so damned sorry, why did they throw a party in the first place? She didn't say a word about it, simply pressed the start button on the coffee pot, then reached into the cabinet above the stove for the Tylenol. Then she lifted a glass to pour water from the tap.

The blonde in their company was less interested in Tessa's mood and more interested in Tessa herself. "So who's this fine lookin' honey?" he asked them. "Like to get me a piece o' that ass. Ya seein' anybody?" he asked Tessa. "Cause I could certainly make myself available for a pretty little thing like you."

Under different circumstances she might've only rolled her eyes at such a pass at her, maybe even blushed at the compliment because he thought she was attractive, but considering what kind of company he kept, she doubted this man was all that different from the rest of the Pagans, especially if he was trying to be one himself, so she recoiled at the comment and set her water glass in the sink, crossing her arms over her chest. But to her surprise, Billy came to her defence and scowled at the blonde. "Uh-uh," Billy shook his head. "She ain't a honey, Brick. You don't talk to her like that. You're a guest in her home. You treat her like a proper lady, you hear me?"

The blonde he called Brick sputtured, and Tessa turned to see Billy glaring at him and Brick himself looking genuinely repentant. "I-I didnt mean nothin' by it," Brick stammered. "I didn't know."

"Well now ya do, so don't do it again," Snake told him and he ducked his chin.

"Sorry about that ma'am," he told her. "I didn't mean nothin' by it. You're just real pretty that's all."

She glanced back and forth between Snake and Billy, who both looked a little disgruntled, then said, "It's alright." Then she turned back to the counter. It was automatic that she should reach for the cast iron skillet and set it out to start breakfast cooking on the stove. She hadn't expected either man to reprimand Brick for coming onto her. It came as a bit of a shock. 

"So who's ol' lady is that?" Brick asked while she opened the refrigerator.

"She ain't nobody's ol' lady," Snake answered. "This is Roxanne's little girl."

"Oh," Brick chirped. "I didn't know she had a daughter."

"Her name's Tessa. This is Brick by the way," Snake told her, introducing them.

"It's a shortened version of his true name," Billy chuckled. 

This made Tessa curious so she turned and asked, "What's it short for?"

Both Billy and Snake looked at Brick expectantly, smiling. Brick rolled his eyes. "Shitbrick," he answered and they laughed at him.

"Shoulda been 'shit for brains' but we done used that one too many times," Billy said.

Brick just took the comments in stride. Demeaning nicknames must've been part of their haizing ritual. She'd read somewhere that Prospects of biker clubs were sometimes put through humiliating things like that and were often picked on by older members. Every club was different as to how they went about it, and nobody but club members knew what they actually had to go through in order to earn their patch, but Tessa imagined that among the Pagans, silly nicknames were just the beginning of the torture. It was probably tame in comparison to anything else he'd been through so far. She'd feel sorry for Brick, but he asked for it.

No one was holding a gun to that boy's head and making him join.

Tessa endured their company while she cooked breakfast, wishing all three of them would just leave and never come back, but she couldn't make them. Not without angering her mother. She had an inkling of suspicion as to how that conversation would go. If Snake left, so would his drugs, and Roxanne would take it all out on Tessa. Maybe she'd even find a way for it to be Tessa's fault that she'd become a drug addict in the first place. Maybe she was right. After all, if Tessa had never been born, her mother could've finished high school, maybe gone off to college after that, would've moved far away, married an accountant, and would be living a nice comfortable life.

But because of Tessa, Roxanne was stuck working shit jobs like bartending at the Cornerstone and giving blow jobs to strangers for extra cash. Because of Tessa, she couldn't find better men than men like Snake to take care of her. Roxanne was miserable all because of her daughter. Tessa had accepted that a long time ago. Seeing her mother with a needle in her arm the night before was only one more thing added to the list of things Tessa had caused to happen. As she fried up eggs in the skillet and buttered some toast, Roxanne finally came downstairs. Tessa was surprised to see her awake this early, but the dope must've knocked her out cold so she slept through the noise.

On the bright side, at least her mother was finally getting proper sleep.

She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and tying her bathrobe at the waist as she entered the kitchen and went straight to the coffee pot. "Mornin' baby," Snake said to her and she grumbled her good morning back to him, padding her way back over briefly to peck his cheek. "You remember Billy," he said, and she nodded. She didn't look too happy to see him though and the feeling looked mutual, like neither Billy nor Roxanne particularly cared for each other's company. Tessa didn't dare entertain the idea that Billy and her mother had ever slept together. It made her uncomfortable to think about. "An' this ugly little turd is Brick."

Roxanne snorted. Shouldering the insult, Brick said, "Nice to meet ya ma'am."

Roxanne chuckled. "Ma'am is it? Well you're certainly raisin' the boys up to be proper gentlemen, I see," she told Snake. "Bet Captain's gettin' a real kick out of that."

She made her cup of coffee and Tessa spared another glance to see both Snake and Billy sharing a dark look. She remembered the name Captain. That was the man in charge before Snake started running things. Snake didn't look to happy to hear his name mentioned, and neither did Billy. They quickly changed the subject though. Snake asked Roxanne if she had to work. She was off today, but she had to make a trip to town and do some shopping. Tessa assumed she would go with her and do the grocery shopping, pick up some cleaning supplies from the dollar store because they were cheaper there. If she told Tessa to stay home, that meant it wasn't shopping she had to do. 

It meant there were appointments with customers she had to keep. 

"Tessa ya gotta work today?" Billy asked, and she shook her head. He just nodded at that, thinly veiling disappointment. It meant she didn't need a ride to work, which also meant she didn't have to suffer being in close proximity to the man. But obviously to Billy it meant he was no longer needed because he sighed, drummed the table with his fingers, then turned to Snake and said, "Well Ima head on outta here. I'll give this little monster a ride home," He jerked a thumb at Brick, who grimaced a little. Probably at the thought of having to ride on the back seat of a bike like a bitch. But evidently he didn't have his own bike, which meant he'd have to walk otherwise.

But he rose from the table just as Billy did, and both said their farewells. Shook Snake's hand, clapped him on the shoulder, and left the house. Roxanne took Billy's empty seat across from Snake and sipped on her coffee. Tessa portioned food onto plates and set it in front of them. "Aintchya gonna sit down an' eat too, little girl?" Snake asked, and Tessa fidgeted. Roxanne made a loud obnoxious snort, scoffing at the mere notion, and Snake's eyes slid to hers across the table. 

"What she need ta eat for?" Roxanne asked. "Look at her. That's all that child does is stuff her face like a greedy little pig. She's supposed ta be on a diet. Lotta good it's doin'."

Tessa turned away and started cleaning up the mess she made, hiding her shame. She wouldn't dare justify that with a comment. Mostly because it wouldn't do any kind of good anyway. She didn't expect Snake to make any comment either, but he said, "Why do you gotta say shit like that in front of your little girl?" He didn't sound happy about the comment either. "She looks fine. She don't need to be on no diet." Roxanne scoffed again.

"Oh don't give me that-"

"Apologize to her," he said coldly.

Her mother huffed. "I ain't aplogizin' for that shit. She needs ta hear it. She knows I'm right too. Ain't nobody else gonna put it to her straight, then I will."

"Roxanne," Snake warned and Tessa dared to stop what she was doing, turning to look at them both. The tension between them was palpable. Roxanne wouldn't be told what to do in her own house, but Snake didn't appear to be the kind of man to tolerate such behavior from her. He looked like he was ready to slap her across the face if she dared to say one more cross word. Tessa's heart sped up. It was such a silly thing to fight about. Didn't hardly matter, and she didn't even know why Snake even cared in the first place. "Apologize to your daughter, Roxanne," he said quietly and Roxanne snapped, getting angry. 

"I aint aplogizin' for shit! This is MY goddamned house and I will speak to her how I good an' damn well please, thank ya very much! As long as she's livin' here, she gonna do what I say, Snake Eyes! My house, my rules!"

Snake looked murderous just then, and Tessa panicked, so she did the only thing she could think of to end the argument. "Momma's right," she spoke up, before he could say anything else. "She's right, it's her house. A-And besides, I mean...I really ain't much ta look at," She glanced down at herself. "I could stand to lose a few pounds and-"

"Goddamn you woman," Snake cursed at Roxanne. "Now ya got that girl thinkin' she's ugly as sin."

"Well I ain't no super model," Tessa said. "Ain't nobody's gotta lie ta me about it. I know ain't all that attractive and I-"

Snake started laughing. "Bullshit," he said. "You're a pretty girl Tessa, ya ain't gotta look like some matchstick on the cover of some magazine to look attractive. Hell, Billy don't want that kinda woman anyway. He likes ya just how you are, baby doll."

"That man would fuck anything with legs," Roxanne piped up. "I've seen the kinda girls he fucks around with. All a bunch of fat hussies, even uglier than her."

Snake snorted. "Well now it ain't hardly Candice's fault she looks like a buffalo mated with a rhinoceros then got tossed in a vat of biohazard material," he said, making Roxanne snort too, and Tessa almost wanted to smile at that comment for some reason, but she kept a straight face. That must've been one ugly woman. "He only ever went to her 'cause nothin' better came along." He picked up a cigarette and lit it, then said, "If he'd fuck anything with legs, how come he never fucked you? An' ya can't tell me it's 'cause he didn't wanna pay for it. He would've." He glanced at Tessa. "He'd been droolin' at her since the minute she walked in the kitchen. The man'd give his right arm to be with that girl."

Roxanne stared for a minute, then sighed. She set down her coffee and dropped the subject with, "I gotta go get dressed. Gotta stop at the post office, then go see a client." Snake just nodded at that. "Do some shoppin' after." She stood up from table, then added to Tessa, "You be sure to get this house cleaned up."

"Yes Momma."

Roxanne left the room, and Tessa alone with Snake.

Just like Billy, he confused the hell out of her too. Seemed like such a nice man on the surface, if you took away the drugs and the violent rap sheet.

Tessa didn't know what to say to him, so she did the only thing she could.

She cleaned the house.


	20. Chapter 20

"Come sit down and eat," Snake insisted one last time, and finally Tessa did as told, abandoning her task and sat across from him at the table. 

He slid the plate her mother hadn't touched toward her and she started to pick at it, looking uncomfortable to even be in the same room with him, let alone near him. She reminded him so much of how Dani used to be before she and her two little girls moved in with Remington. Dani was like Tessa. Skittish, easily alarmed by anyone and everything. She'd jump at the slightest sound, and stammer every time she was addressed, tripping over her words just like Tessa. Was most frightened by men, but even some of the other Ladies made her nervous too, because she was so scared she'd say the wrong thing to them and piss somebody off.

Dani was a battered woman. She'd been through hell before Remington came along. Wouldn't think such a thing to see her now though. But Tessa had that same look about her, and after what happened that morning, Snake was certain he knew why. He decided he didn't like the way Roxanne treated her little girl, only he didn't know what to do about it just yet. Women were complicated creatures, and it was difficult to discern just what it was that Tessa even wanted out of the situation. She obviously loved her mother, even defended her, and it was evident that Roxanne had put it in her head somehow that she was correct to treat her that way, maybe she even thought she deserved it.

It would take a helluva lot of convincing to even make Tessa understand she wasn't being disciplined, she was being abused. Of course he didn't have any proof of that either. It wasn't like he watched Roxanne put her hands on Tessa, but he could feel it between them. Evident by the way Tessa behaved around Roxanne, like she was scared to even breathe wrong in her presence. She was more scared of Roxanne than Snake and Billy combined. But he wasn't so sure he even had the right to intervene. Technically Roxanne was in the right. This was her house, and she wasn't his old lady. Wasn't like he had any right to dictate what she did.

If he didn't like what he saw, he knew where the door was. 

But he couldn't just sit back and let it happen either. He loved Roxanne, and took quite the liking to her little girl too. She was such a sweet child, and if Snake was intent on having these two women in his his life, then he needed to figure out a way to dissolve the tension between them before it got any worse. He didn't know how to go about doing that though. Tessa didn't seem to care for him anymore than the next man. Obviously didn't think too highly of men like him, but that should come as no surprise. She didn't know a damned thing about him, other than what she might've heard from some passing stranger, or read about in the paper.

What most people knew about him could barely fill a shot glass, but if Tessa even knew half of the truth without understanding any of it, she'd run screaming from a man like him.

He studied her for a while as she picked at her food, trying to piece it all together in his mind, when finally she broke the agonizing silence with, "Last night I saw my momma stick a needle in her arm, an' I know it weren't no insulin she was stickin' herself with." She looked up at him after she said that, and he could see the contempt in her eyes. She knew who was responsible for that. Didn't look too happy about it either. Obviously Roxanne kept Tessa completely in the dark about her bad habit until now, and he hadn't a doubt that Tessa held him responsible for it. 

He wasn't though. Roxy had been doing that shit for years before Snake ever entered the picture. It was what lured her into Prunty's and around the club members in the first place.

She found out they were the ones supplying her dealers, so she went straight to the source. Tessa didn't look inclined to tell anyone about it at least, only meant to confront Snake about her habit, so he didn't bother denying anything. Just slowly nodded and said, "Yeah your mother's gotta bad habit, don't she." He set down his fork and took a sip of the black coffee Tessa had poured and set in front of him along with the plate of eggs and buttered toast. Her lip trembled like she was about to cry, but she held it in. Gazed sullenly at him like saying it was a 'bad habit' was an understatement. He supposed from her perspective it was.

Good little girls like Tessa just wouldn't understand how common place it was for women like Roxanne.

They didn't condone it either.

"Why are ya doin' that ta her?" she asked quietly. "Why are ya hurtin' her like that?"

"I ain't tryna hurt her, little girl. I'm tryna help her."

Now Tessa did tear up a little, but she didn't choke out a sob, just kept her sodden expression, gazing at him with empty, pitiless eyes. "How is givin' her dope supposed ta help her exactly?" she asked and he sighed a little.

"Because it means she ain't goin' to no one else for it. Someone else might not be as good to her. Someone else might hurt her. Might lace that shit with somethin' that could kill her, or take advantage of your mother. Me, I'm just tryna look out for her. She's gonna do it anyway, and ain't neither one of us has a say in that. One way or another she'll get her fix, and a woman like her is willin' to do just about anything for it, so believe me when I say, little girl, she's better off dealin' with a man like me." He lifted his mug and took a sip of his coffee. It had gotten cold, so he rose from his seat to pour more coffee from the pot to warm it back up.

He didn't know what he'd expected from the girl, but he certainly didn't expect her to get angry and say, "What, so I'm just supposed to believe ya got some kinda good intentions shovin' drugs in my momma's face?!" He blinked in surprise when he heard that spiteful tone and turned to look at her. It was hard to believe this was Roxanne's daughter because normally they were so different, but after hearing that, he hadn't a doubt in his mind of where she got her attitude from. He didn't get angry though. He was just surprised she even had it in her to snap at someone like that. She instantly regretted it though, and ducked her chin, like she was afraid he'd backhand her for raising her voice.

Her lip quivered and her face scrunched up as tears streamed down her cheeks. 

It was like a punch to his gut, seeing her cry like that.

If there was one thing he hated more than anything in this world, it was to see a woman cry like that.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," She sniffed, "I didn't mean to get angry like that." When he stepped toward her she flinched and threw her hands up to cover her face, expecting him to hit her. Snake sighed when he saw it, and disappointment settled over him. Anger too. It clicked in his mind just then that Tessa must've thought he was mean toward women, had made that assumption of him the moment she laid eyes on him, and it filled him with a quiet rage bubbling under his skin, simmering beneath the surface. She shrunk away from him in her seat, looking at him the same way women used to look at Captain.

Suddenly Snake had had enough, and suddenly got an idea of how to set Tessa straight. His steps were slow and careful toward her, like a spooked animal, and his touch was gentle when he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Little girl, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said softly, but she was still just as tense as could be, like she didn't believe a word he said. She was right not to take him at his word. He'd done nothing as of yet to earn her trust in him. But he'd put her straight. He knelt in front of her, leaning his head to the side to catch her eyes with his. "Wontchya go upstairs and get dressed," he said. "You an' me are gonna take a ride. There's someone I want ya to meet."

She shook her head, shaking. She didn't want to go anywhere with him. But she was too scared to even speak again. "It's alright, baby doll. She's a good friend o' mine. I think you'll really like her too."

Tessa swallowed, thinking it over, then slowly nodded. "Alright then," she mumbled, though she didn't look happy still.

Snake nodded. "Go upstairs and get dressed," he repeated. "Don't put shorts on. Never a good idea to wear shorts on a bike. Put jeans on. Boots too."

"But it's hot outside."

"It is, but the exhaust pipes might burn ya."

She sniffed. "Okay."

Snake gave her room to slide out of the chair and go upstairs, and as she changed, he put his boots on, laced them up, then went out to start his Harley. 

It made a knocking sound for a second or two, and he was inclined to think Billy might be right about it needing a tune up. Might be time to take it in to Davenport's and park it in Billy's garage for a while, until he could figure out what was wrong with it. Snake glanced at the bike, then up at Tessa's window, having an errant thought pop in his head just then. Women were a lot like motorcycles. Some were real pretty, but not always built to last. Others might look like dogshit, but still run just as smoothly as the day they came off the showroom floor. And then some, like Tessa, were beautiful inside and out, but if you didn't take care of them, they'd start to fall apart.

Snake reckoned it was high time Tessa had a tune up, so he'd take her to meet Dani.

If anyone could figure out what was wrong with that child, Dani would know what to do about it.


	21. Chapter 21

[Dani And Remington Face claims](https://thesedejectedthoughts.tumblr.com/post/190633177552/dani-and-remington-faceclaims)

Tessa didn't have motorcycle boots, but she did have a pair of black leather boots she typically wore in the winter. They were a little scuffed up, but hard soled with good tread that kept her from slipping on the ice, and the leather did a pretty decent job of keeping her feet dry when she was forced to wade through snow to get to work. She laced them up after throwing on a pair of skin tight jeans that covered her ankles, then she shuffled down the stairs and out the front door. Snake was waiting on his Harley, so after strapping on her helmet, she carefully climbed on and settled in the seat behind him. "Sit back a little," Snake told her, so she scooted back. "You can lean against that backrest."

She did as he instructed. But the second her back touched the rest, she realized there was too much of a gap between them for her to hold on. "Where do I put my hands?" she asked him, and he chuckled.

"You can keep them right where they are," he said, as currently she rested them on her thighs. "Ya ain't gonna fall off. Just keep level with the bike. Don't lean too much around a turn, otherwise it'll throw off my balance." She swallowed, but when he shifted the bike in gear and they took off down the driveway, she started to understand what he meant about not leaning too much. It was different than riding with Billy. In order to keep from throwing him off balance she had to move as he moved because her arms were around him, but riding with Snake meant remaining stationary on the bike so he could turn easily since she rested so far back from him and the weight was displaced differently.

Turning off the gravel and onto the highway, she felt like one of those older women she'd see on the back of a Honda Goldwing with her husband in the beginning of the summer, one of a string of touring bikes that would ride by the gas station, sometimes stopping for gas. Leaning back and just enjoying the ride, sunshine in her face, without a care in the world, much less the fear of falling off. After a while Tessa got used to the way Snake rode, and how the bike felt beneath her, so pretty soon she was enjoying the view more than strictly watching the road ahead of them. She turned her head and eyed the houses they passed by. 

He took her all the way into town, then across it, before turning off onto a one lane road in a relatively decent neighborhood. It was close to where her grandparents used to live, and the house they approached was one she recognized. She passed it by every morning on the school bus, but never knew who lived there. It was a nice house, with a clean yard and a paved driveway. The mailbox at the end of it said 'Baxter' on the side of it. The grass had been mowed recently, and around the porch was a flower bed with petunias growing in it. A pink bicycle keeled over in the grass and the house itself looked wholesome. 

It was no crackhouse in the projects Snake had taken her to. Whoever lived there seemed fairly well off. There was a Ford F250 parked in front of the garage, with a decal in the back glass that said NRA and a sticker in the shape of a hazard sign that said, "Watch For Motorcycles." It was right next to a Focus, but Tessa assumed there was a motorcycle somewhere in that garage. Could be a Harley like Snake's. Billy rode an Indian, so obviously the Pagans didn't discriminate, but Tessa wasn't even sure this was a Pagan house they'd pulled up in front of. It looked like it could belong to any typical middle class American family. All that was missing was the white picket fence.

Snake downshifted and applied the brakes, then signaled for her to dismount first, then he followed shortly after shutting off the bike and lowering the kickstand. He hung his muted black half helmet on the handlebar so she set hers on the backrest, then she followed him up to the porch. She had no idea why he wanted her to meet the woman that lived here, but the oddness of the situation made her curious. Seeming to remember they didn't allow smoking indoors, Snake turned and flipped the cigarette he'd lit at the last red light they'd encountered in town. 

But to Tessa's bewilderment, he seemed to have a change of heart about flicking it into the yard, shuffled down the steps to pick it up, snuffed it out on his boot, and shoved it in his pocket instead, then swept his shaggy hair out of his face before climbing back up the steps. Evidently he had a measure of respect for whoever owned the house, if he gave them such courtesy. A man answered the door, but to Tessa's surprise, his was not a grizzly looking profile. He was older, close to Snake in age, approximately mid forties and sported a hint of gray, but his hair was short and his face was cleanly shaven recently, only a fraction of stubble had grown in. 

He didn't wear a denim vest either. Instead he wore a navy blue t-shirt with jeans and crew socks, and had an unlit cigar in his mouth. He plucked it out to say, "Well, look what the cat dragged in," with a hint of a smirk, making Snake chuckle.

"How's it goin', brother," Snake greeted and the two shook hands, each man clapping the other on the shoulder as seemed to be typical of Snake and his associates. They didn't look related, so when Snake called him 'brother' she assumed it was in the biblical sense, meaning they were brothers in the club and not actually related. He let them into the house and Tessa was overwhelmed with the scent of fabric softener and what might have been candles, instead of pot or cigarette smoke, meaning a woman most definitely lived there and had just finished the laundry. "Where are the girls at?" Snake asked him, looking around.

"4-H," he answered, and Snake nodded, just as a woman was entering the living room from another just beyond. Tessa was busy studying the walls. There were pictures of this man and woman together with two little girls, and pictures of him competing in what appeared to be shooting tournaments at the local gun range, and he'd even won trophies for them. Pictures of the girls holding various ribbons too. The woman, whom Tessa assumed was his wife, was quite beautiful and she entered the room with a smile on her face. Greeting Snake with a hug like they were old friends too. She had a scar above her left eye though, one that never healed properly.

Snake introduced them. "This here is Tessa, Roxy's little girl." He turned to her and said, "This is Remington, our Secretary, and his ol' lady, Dani."

"It's nice to meet you both," she said nervously, but mostly because she was still a bit shaken from that morning, getting angry at Snake for waving off her mother's drug problem like it was no big deal, and her fear of him lashing out at her for snapping at him. But these people seemed warm and friendly, not at all what she was expecting. Though Remington had obviously earned his nickname fair and square as a sharpshooter, and she hadn't a doubt he'd turn his rifle on a man if necessary. Even without being a club member, he seemed like the typical conservative that very much liked to exercise his gun rights. 

In a presidential cabinet a secretary was one of many officials that answered to the President themselves, which meant he was an important member to the club, but Tessa highly doubted it was short for Secretary of State. In all likelihood, Remington was closer to having a Secretary of _Defense_. But he seemed nice enough. She just couldn't believe these people would associate themselves with a man like Snake. "Are ya hungry?" Remington asked them both. "Dani was just gettin' ready to throw somethin' together in the kitchen." Despite the fact that they had already had breakfast, Snake accepted the invitation with a smile.

"Sounds good," he said. "Say, little girl, would you mind helpin' her? I gotta talk to Remi here about a few things."

Dani made no argument whatsoever against having help in the kitchen, just smiled at her and said, "Come on, I'll show ya the way." She waved her to the back of the house, and Tessa gathered that this was her cue to get to know Dani. After all, this was her reason for being there, so she dutifully followed the woman to her spacious kitchen with its granite counters, and left Snake to the company of his friend. They passed through and headed out onto the back deck. Dani smiled again as she pulled items out of the cabinets to cook what might be cheeseburgers and homemade french fries, then asked, "Ya know your way around a kitchen?" 

Tessa nodded. "Yeah I cook all the time."

"Well good." She set Tessa to the task of slicing potatoes and heated the oil in the electric deep fryer on the counter. Then she stood and shaped the hamburger into patties beside her. "So you're Roxanne Middleton's daughter?" she asked and Tessa nodded. Dani chuckled. "So the rumor mill had it right this time around. Snake's finally layin' down roots with your momma, is he?"

"I guess so," Tessa shrugged, not really understanding what Dani meant by 'finally'. He'd mentioned having known Roxanne for several years, but he never said anything about sleeping with her. Would hardly be a surprise if he'd been one of her clients, but Tessa didn't know what to say about it. "He's been at the house every day now," was all she could speculate. "Momma don't normally do that. Usually she brings home a different..." She swallowed the word 'client' and said, "Man just about every other night." Dani just smiled knowingly. Tessa's heart sped up. She had no idea what Dani knew about her mother, but she could imagine how that sounded. 

"Yeah," Dani sighed. "Your momma was always a heartbreaker," she said, but she did so with a chuckle, like she found it amusing. "Poor man's been chasin' after her for years but she never wanted ta settle down. So what's your story? You in school right now?"

Tessa shook her head. "I work at the Exxon," she said. Dani just nodded.

They were quiet for a minute, Tessa concentrating on slicing potatoes and Dani nearby watching her, like she was curious about her, but Tessa didn't have much to talk about. Not much of a story to tell. No boyfriend, not many friends, and very little opportunities to get out of the house. She wasn't very good at socializing either. Only doing as her mother told. If asked, she could answer questions, and sometimes she had questions of her own, but she didn't know what to say to Dani, and she didn't want to accidentally say something that might offend the woman. Normally, her only female company was her mother, or whoever she was stuck working a shift with, so she was very inept at conversation.

But after a time, Dani prompted her with, "So how do ya like havin' a man in the house for a change? Must be different, huh, now that your momma's gotta steady boyfriend?"

"Yeah, it's...different."

"He treat your momma good?"

"I-I guess so."

"What about you?"

Tessa very quickly realized Dani was prodding her with questions because she seemed so tense, but she didn't know what to say to her. Dani acted like she liked Snake, she and Remington both treated him like family, and Tessa didn't want to upset her by saying bad things about the man. Maybe Dani was also secretly harboring some kind of resignation toward him but wouldn't dare show it because of her husband. Maybe Dani did the same things her mother did, so she wouldn't even sympathize with Tessa at all. Simply threaten her to never tell anyone what they did otherwise bad things would happen to her. "He's alright," she finally mumbled, hoping Dani would change the subject.

But she didn't. "He bothers you, doesn't he?" she asked. "It's alright, you can tell me. I know he ain't exactly the easiest man ta get along with. You can be honest."

She didn't believe that, so instead of answering, she asked, "So how long have you and Remington been married?"

As if sensing her discomfort, Dani backed off, continued to mash the ground meat into circular shapes and said, "Oh we ain't married or nothin', but we've been livin' together for about five years now."

"How come ya ain't married?"

She set the last patty aside and moved to the sink to wash her hands. "Cause I'm still legally married to my ex," she answered. Tessa furrowed her brow.

"But Snake said you're Remington's wife."

Dani chuckled. "Ol' Lady," she corrected. "They ain't always the same thing with them. But it means a whole helluva lot more than some flimsy piece of paper in their eyes. By all rights I should be that man's wife. He takes good care o' me an' my little girls, loves them like his own flesh an' blood, and in every other sense of the word I belong to him, but we can't get married until Knoxville signs the divorce papers and he refuses to."

As soon as Tessa heard that name, it clicked in her mind who Dani was. She blinked rapidly a few times before settling into slicing the last potato, suddenly unable to speak. This was Danielle, the wife of Barney "Knoxville" Stevens, another Pagan. The man that had allegedly beaten his wife with a tire iron, breaking her ribs in four places. She shuddered when she thought of it. Dani looked fine now, just as happy as could be with her new life, but Tessa could only imagine the hell she'd been through before Remington came along. Was this why Snake wanted them to meet? Did it have something to do with what Knoxville had done to her?

Finally she found her words and asked, "So how'd ya end up with Remington?"

Dani smiled a little as she set the frying pan on the stove and laid a few patties on it to cook, then lit the burner beneath them. "Snake," she said simply, and Tessa blinked in confusion once more. "Well he set it up," she elaborated. "Once he figured out what was goin' on between me and Knoxville, he came to our house and told me to pack my things. See, Knoxville was abusive to me." She pointed to the scar above her eye. "But when the former President was still runnin' things, the men could do whatever they damn well pleased with their wives and no one would say a word. None o' the ladies either. Wouldn't've done us no kinda good anyway. The cops wouldn't do shit."

"But when Captain got put away," she continued, "And left Snake to act on his behalf, he decided to change some things, and one of the first things he did was come over to the house, him and the new Vice President of the club, stood and looked right at Knoxville and said, 'That ain't your woman anymore. She's Remi's now.' Told me to pack my things, said me an' my daughters were leavin', put us in Remi's truck, and we've been here ever since. Knoxville's allowed to see 'em for an hour every Saturday, but other than that, they don't have anything to do with their biological father. Remington's their father now."

Tessa set aside the knife and brushed her palms against her jeans. "How could he do that? Just...give ya to some other man like that? Say you belong ta him?"

"Cause the Prez can make decisions like that," Dani answered simply. "An' Snake decided he wasn't gonna watch Knoxville lay his hands on me anymore."

"An Knoxville went along with it?"

"He didn't have a choice. If he wanted to keep his membership, his place in their world, and his head on his shoulders, he'd do as Snake told him to, end of story."

"An' the cops didn't do nothin'?" Tessa asked, and Dani shook her head. "But if y'all are still legally married, and ain't no judge said he couldn't have 'em, how come he can't just see his kids whenever he wants?"

Dani smirked, and said, "Because if he comes within a mile of either one of my daughters when he ain't supposed to, Remi or anyone of the Cabinet will blow his goddamn head off, that's why." Dani glanced at the back door. "Ya seen them trophies in there? They ain't just for decoration. My man is one of the best sharpshooters in the tri-state area, could shoot a fly off a horse's ass at a hundred yards. Knoxville don't wanna mess with him, and luckily Remi cares more about the Prez's way of thinkin' than his. Not only that but he happens to love me an' my girls, and would kill any man that threatened to harm us." 

Dani glanced back at the door again. 

Then she added, "Hell even Snake himself, if he suspected he might."

Tessa was amazed to hear all that.

To hear that Snake cared enough about the women members were involved with to get them out of bad situations like what he'd done for Dani. When the police couldn't step in, Snake had taken the initiative. Where no one else would help them, Snake had intervened.

Tessa chewed her lip as she thought about it, wondering if maybe Snake wasn't the man she'd assumed he was.

Not a good man by any means still, but...maybe not the worst of men either.


	22. Chapter 22

While Dani and Tessa prepared lunch, Snake kicked back in a lawn chair across from Remington, one leg resting on a third chair while he crumbled some weed on the little plastic table between them. Remi slouched in his seat, chewing on the unlit cigar he'd always light after they toked up. They couldn't hear what was said, but they could vaguely hear the women talking in the kitchen, which was a good sign. Getting Tessa to let down her gaurd around Dani was the first step to getting her on the right track. Snake tucked a cigarette behind his ear for after the last bit of his weed was smoked up and rolled a joint as Remi said, "Roxanne Middleton, huh?"

Snake glanced up to see he was smirking. He rolled his eyes. "Don't you even start with me," he threatened lightly with a chuckle. Remi laughed.

Then he shook his head and said, "I have no room to talk. Trust me, I know why you're with her."

Snake blinked slowly. "Ah, yeah I almost forgot about that. Best I recall it was a bottle of Jose Quervo and an eight ball of cocaine that night, was it?"

Remi nodded. "An' the best five hundred dollars I'd ever blown, that is, until Dani came along."

Snake chuckled at the man. No woman, not even Roxanne, would ever compare to Dani in Remi's eyes. Best decision Snake had ever made was putting her in his care. He'd only meant to protect her of course, had never expected her to fall head over heels for the man after she finally got used to him and realized she could trust him, but even if he didn't love her, Snake hadn't a doubt Remington would look after her and those two little girls of hers. It was hard to regret all the hard choices he'd had to make when he saw how good they had it now. "Speakin' of," Snake prompted, since they were on that subject. "How's the home front?"

Remi smiled. "Good. Real good. Girls are real happy too. Their momma's got em in all these 'programs' now." He shook his head and sighed. "4-H, cheerleadin', gymnastics," he listed, counting them off on his fingers. "Hell you name it, they're probably signed up for it." Snake laughed at that. "An' she knows I wont say no to 'em," Remi huffed, "An' all they gotta do is bat their eyelashes at me an' I'll fall for it every damned time. They got me whipped, an' they know it too. Wrapped around their little fingers. All three of 'em." Snake just continued laughing and shook his head at the man. Remi's first love may have been for the club, but his close second would always be those girls. 

Snake had always wondered at the power a woman could have over a man.

The power to change everything.

"Many a great man are brought to heel not by the strength of other men, nor their armies, but simply by the touch of a woman," he surmised, and Remi snorted at his rhetoric.

"Is that to say they're the root of all our problems?" he asked and Snake chuckled.

"More than likely," he said, then lit the joint he'd rolled. Remi chuckled again at that. They passed the joint back and forth for a little while, before conversation took a more serious turn, when Snake frowned and asked, "Knox still dropping by to see 'em?"

Remi, who also frowned at his mention, nodded and said, "Every Saturday at four." He puffed on the joint, passed it back to Snake, then decided to light his cigar, pulling a book of matches from the breast pocket of his shirt, striking one, then touching it to the end. He shook the match and tossed it on the table, took a few long drags, permeating the air between them thickly with cigar smoke for a moment before rubbing his brow with his thumb and saying, "It's good that you stopped by actually. I've been meaning to talk to you about him. Somethin's been goin' on with him, an' I don't quite know what ta do about it jus' yet."

Snake straightened a little in his chair, taking his leg off the one across from him, and gave Remi his full attention. "Alright," he proffered with a nod.

Remi sighed. "He's been goin' down to the school an' talkin' to Lily."

Snake's gaze hardened as he stared at the pristine backyard dotted with the occasional maple tree, bright green leaves glowing in the sun, gently swaying in the summer breeze.

"He knows what will happen if he goes anywhere near them girls," he said, and beside him Remi nodded.

"He ain't been goin' inside or nothin', just catchin' her in the playground during recess and talkin' to her through the fence. Lily's teacher called Dani after the third time it happened an' told her about it. Technically the school can't call the law on him just for hangin' around. He ain't a registered sex offender, and his name is on their birth certificates. By all rights he could walk right in that schoolhouse, flash his I.D. an' sign 'em both out if he wanted to, and they can't stop him without Dani showin' them a paper from the courthouse sayin' he can't have 'em. Which she doesn't have. He ain't tried to yet, but he's been sayin' things ta Lily. She wouldn't say what at first, but Hannah finally got it out of her and told their mother."

Snake narrowed his eyes in thought.

Knoxville wouldn't sign his daughters out of school, because he knew the moment he did, a squad of members would surround his house, every one of them armed. Locked, loaded, and ready to kill him if he didn't give up those girls. Every member of the Cabinet, plus a few more. The best he could do would be to take Lily and Hannah on the run with him, but even then, his options would be limited. Eventually someone would ask questions about why a mean looking stranger was carting around two scared little girls, paying cash to rent a motel room instead of using a credit card, grow suspicious and notify the state police. 

Provided he even got that far, and Dani's brother or any of the Pagans didn't catch up to him first.

"What's he been sayin' to Lily?" Snake asked.

Remi shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

He lowered his voice and said, "He's been promising they'll be together soon. That one day he'll come get her and her sister, and they'll 'never be apart again'."

Snake took a moment to analyze that statement, passing the joint back to Remi, then reaching up to pluck the cigarette from behind his ear and light it. The flick of a lighter was the only thing to fill the silence for a full minute as he processed. On the surface it sounded like any promise a father would make to his daughter. But where Knoxville was concerned it was never so simple. It might sound like he meant to reassure her in some way, but neither Lily nor Hannah even missed their biological father, let alone wanted to live with him. No child would, not after witnessing their father abuse their mother firsthand. Those girls had been just as frightened of him as Dani had been.

What sounded like a promise was a thinly veiled threat, in Snake's eyes.

That it would all be over soon.

That the life they had with Remi would come to an end.

Sounded like he was cooking up a plan to make that happen. 

He mulled it over in his mind before saying, "If it happens again, don't wait around. You call me first, and you have Dani sign those girls out of school. Keep them here at the house."

"Alright," Remi nodded. "What are ya gonna do?"

"Well," He puffed on his cigarette, bearing a smile, "Right now I'm gonna have a nice lunch with my brother and his family," he said pleasantly. "And afterwards I'll find out what he's up to," he promised. "Just lay low about things for right now. Lemme take care of it."

Remi shrugged, then nodded in aquiece. "You always do," he said, and Snake gave him a smirk.

"And I always will."

By that point in conversation, the house was starting to smell strongly of home cooked burgers and fried potato wedges, so much so that it was wafting outside and punching a hole right through the smell of Remi's cigar, so he put it out on the ashtray sitting between them. Not a minute later a motorcycle could be heard barreling up the driveway, drowning out the sound of the four door sedan that followed it. Snake and Remington shared a glanced before the Secretary perked up and said, "Looks like Tina and Cassidy brought the girls back from 4-H." He checked the time on his wristwatch as he spoke. "Yep, that'd be them. Wonchya hide that weed," he added and Snake diligently stamped out the joint they'd been smoking and stuffed it in his cigarette pack.

He sputtered and coughed, waving his hand in front of his face when Remi blew cigar smoke at him so he didn't smell quite so strongly of pot. "Dickhead," he muttered and Remi snickered at him.

"Oh come on now," he chided. "You're the one what suggested I start cleanin' up my act and keeping up with appearances."

That was true, but mostly so he'd have the law on his side if push ever came to shove and the city police ever decided to poke around, looking for excuses to call child services on them. They had a lot of friends in that town, but there was only so much they could do if their backs ever hit the wall. And Snake would sooner turn straight, give up every one of his contacts, and do yet another long stint in federal prison before he let anything happen to those girls. He'd done a lot of bad things in his lifetime, that was for damned sure, but that was one thing he'd sooner die for than ever live with having on his conscience. 

If only women knew how their smiles could topple an empire, and be the death of better men.

"You're still a dickhead," he said to Remi, who snorted, as they peeled out of their seats, then headed inside.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roxy's customer requests anal in this chapter. If that's not your cup of tea, feel free to skip to the end notes to see how it affects the plot.

Roxanne did precisely what she told Snake she would do that morning. She stopped at the post office first, checked the P.O. Box for any mail that came, then she drove to Bobby Livingston's house. She wouldn't normally drop by unannounced like this, but if she was going to quit seeing customers, she thought it better to give him the heads up in person, rather than over the phone. It was the polite thing to do. Bobby had been one of her better clients, and she owed him that much at least, to be the bearer of bad news in person, instead of simply giving him the cold shoulder or an even colder hearted conversation over the phone.

Besides, what better way to say farewell than with a good long and hard fuck.

And a little severence pay to go along with it of course.

He was home. She saw his Audi parked in the driveway, so she stepped up to the porch, straightening her blouse, then knocked on the door, putting on an easy smile when he answered. He was shirtless too, and looking fairly edible at the moment. "Hmm, to what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked with that deep, gravelly and oh so sexy voice of his. This was going to be hard. She was going to miss having Bobby to come to whenever she needed quick cash and no others were available, since he didn't have a wife to dodge or a girlfriend to make excuses to. 

She grinned at him, jutting out one hip and placing her hand on it. 

Then she flipped her hair over one shoulder, giving him her best bedroom eyes.

"Wanted to have a quick conversation," she said, her tone dripping with enough suggestion for Bobby to pick up on the innuendo.

"A quickie, huh?" he asked, and she nodded. "You know I always did think it was ironic? That you're the one runnin' a business, but I'm the one puttin' out like a whore for ya." She snickered at that. Yeah, she thought it was funny too. Bobby might call her on occasion, but most usually Roxanne was the one to call him up, asking if he wanted to get frisky. "Whenever are you gonna face facts and realize you're in love with me, huh?" he grinned and she rolled her eyes, chuckling. She didn't take that comment seriously. Not anymore than any other comment from any other client. He knew she didn't care about him. Just the wad of cash in his wallet.

"Well damn, ya done figured me out," she quipped sarcastically, and he laughed, then he opened the door wider to let her in. 

Once the door was shut behind them, his arms slipped around her waist, and she ran her hands up his bare chest, just before he reached down to squeeze both cheeks of her ass. "What did ya have in mind, gorgeous?" he asked and she smirked.

"Depends. Whaddya got the money for?"

He gave her another sly grin and said, "Well, I just got paid yesterday, so..." He reached behind him for his wallet, pulled it out and flipped it open. She could see the hundreds tucked inside it and her heart leapt. She could imagine the kinds of thoughts swirling inside that head of his. He had enough in there for the most expensive item on the menu, plus a little left over. He bit his lip at her, just as she was licking hers. She knew what Bobby was after this time around. Otherwise he would've come out and said he wanted something else. The way he was always going on about her ass obviously meant it was worth the price.

She glanced at his wallet.

That was a lot of cash.

"I see somebody finally settled in court, did they?"

"Yes ma'am they did," he grinned.

"Hmm, so ya wanna fuck me in the ass this time around?"

"Hell yeah."

"Alright baby," she agreed. "Wontchya take me upstairs then."

She was always hesitant about anal with her clients, which was why she charged the most for it, above anything else. Some men wagered they could be rough with her, as if they expected her to be fucked like that quite often and they could just stick it in with no warm up whatsoever, expecting it to be loose. Others had no idea what they were doing with that kind of thing, but didn't like to be coached by her. Found it to be a turn off. They didn't really like their inexperience to be shoved in their faces either. Some men were too big and it just hurt too damned much to be worth petty cash, even if they used plenty of lube and loosened her up beforehand. 

Roxanne herself didn't get any kind of pleasure out of it anyway, so nine times out of ten she didn't even offer it as an option.

She would make an exception for Bobby though, especially if this was to be their last ride together. She took him by the hand and the two went upstairs to the master bedroom of the house. When they first started fucking around, he was hesitant to have her in that room and stuck to the couch because he had hoped his wife would change her mind and come running back to him, so he didn't feel right about having a hooker in their marital bed. But the longer she stayed away, the less and less hopeful he became, and now, six months later, he could care less about Roxanne flopping down on the plush queen sized mattress with a grin.

Bobby eyed her hungrily before walking around the bed and opening the drawer of his nightstand. He pulled out a bottle of lubricant and a condom. The moment he laid it on the bed she snatched it up. Smirking, she said, "Let me warm myself up for ya. You just sit back and enjoy the show, baby." Bobby settled on the bed and rested on his calves while Roxanne lay back, hiked up her skirt, then pulled down her laced panties. She spread her legs wide and gave him a good view while she applied lubricant, sure to be enthusiastic when she fingered herself, first dipping in with one finger, then eventually two. He got excited just watching her slowly loosen up her hole for him, and was soon unzipping his pants to jerk his cock as he watched.

It was pleasurable, but it always was at this stage of the act. It wasn't until a customer shoved his dick in her that it stopped being fun. But Roxanne thought about those crisp hundred dollar bills in Bobby's wallet, and found the urge to enjoy it clear to the end. She took her sweet time fingering herself, switching from two fingers to three, reapplying lubricant as needed, before she decided to get her client in on the action. "Your turn, baby," she purred at him, reaching for his hand and bringing it to her ass. He moaned, quite thoroughly enjoying himself as he fingered her next. His were larger and just a bit harsher, but by now she was quite used to the feel of something inside of her and encouraged him, begging him for more.

A brief thought entered her head of what it might be like to do this with Snake, wondered if it might be better, because everything seemed better with him, but she quickly pushed such thoughts aside and concentrated on Bobby. Soon enough she would belong to Snake, but for the moment she was still free to do as she damn well pleased, so she might as well reap the benefit and milk it for all it was worth while she still could. Soon Bobby's hand was reaching deep inside of her, as he was determined to draw out her pleasure before he plunged in with that thick hard cock of his. "Ya ready for me, baby?" he finally asked her and she nodded. He pulled away and slipped on a condom.

Roxanne rolled over and got to her hands and knees, lowering her chest to the bed and raising her ass high in the air for him. He lined his cock up with her entrance and pushed in slowly, with just the head at first, in and out several times, before the rest of him followed suit. For a moment her throes of passion were genuine, because there was just something about that hole being stretched wide open with Bobby's dick that made her slick and wet, legs shaking from the pleasure of it. Then he gradually filled her up and started to pound into her. He only lasted a minute or so before he had to slow down just to keep from immediately blowing his load. That was just how much he enjoyed it. "Damn that's fuckin' tight," he commented breathlessly. "Don't do this very often, do ya, baby?"

"Only for you," she moaned, feeling no shame whatsoever in lying right through her teeth.

He fucked her for a while like that, alternating between deep hard thrusts and more shallower ones as he got closer and closer to climax, squeezing both cheeks of her ass tightly, giving one the occasional smack and groaning how much he loved that ass. Eventually she relaxed her frame on the bed completely and let him pound into her however he wanted with not so much a complaint, just the occasional simper of a moan. It felt better when she fingered her clit while he fucked, so she did that briefly, and the moment Bobby saw it, he was pushed over the edge and his orgasm started to build. When he sped up and his thrusts became erratic, meaning he was close, she gave him her best high pitched porn star moans of encouragement.

He spilled into the condom with a long, drawn out moan, and once completely void of cum he slowly pulled out and collapsed on the bed with a huff, sweaty and breathless. It took a moment for him to gather his bearings. It took a moment for Roxanne to work up what she had to say to him. But as she was pulling up her underwear and Bobby was ridding himself of the used dirty condom and tossing it in a waste basket, she said, "I'm afraid that was our last ride together, handsome." Bobby blinked in surprise at that. "I'm cuttin' out," she added by way of explanation. "I ain't seein' clients anymore." She straightened her skirt. Bobby cursed.

"Well damn. Guess it's a good thing I got paid huh." She chuckled. "Cause that was one helluva a last run." She fixed her appearance as Bobby reached for his wallet and thumbed through his cash, then he tossed it on the bed. "So what made you decide to quit?" he asked. "I thought you liked it?" She shrugged.

"Got a boyfriend now," she said. "Ain't really no reason ta keep doin' it. I can get all I need from him. Don't need another man."

"Does he know what you do in your spare time?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "He knows what I get up to."

"So Roxanne Middleton is finally turnin' straight," he remarked. "Finally settlin' down huh?...Well if that's the case, why not settle down with me? What's he got that I ain't got?"

She snorted. A bigger dick, for one thing. But she wouldn't insult the man with such a low blow in his own home. She was raised better than that. Bobby had always been good to her. She wouldn't do him the injustice. "Well he wants ta take care of me," she admitted instead. "He'll look out for me an' my little girl."

"And you think I wouldn't?"

"Ain't sayin' that. But why would you wanna settle down with a girl like me anyway? Thought you were happy bein' a free man for a change?"

"Well I am, but..."

Roxy sighed at him. He was only entertaining the idea because he was still floating on cloud nine from the hot sex they had. Or maybe envious of another man getting to have for free what he had to pay for. Jealousy was often the ruin of men. Roxanne always thought it uncanny how easily men could be snuffed out by it. One minute they had everything. Good job, nice house, fancy car and easy living. Then how quickly it could all come tumbling down over one simple thing. Jealousy. It had ruined better men than Bobby Livingston. "Besides I'm quite happy with the man I got right now," she told him, rising from the bed and tucking her hard earned cash in her bra cup, then turning to leave.

Bobby snorted. "How good could he really be if he's been fuckin' a prostitute?"

Roxanne paused in the doorway at that.

She slowly turned around.

There were a hundred different ways she could respond to such an insult to her person. She could tell him he was only the same for hiring a hooker to get his rocks off, or she could defend her career choice as a whore. Maybe even get offended at the way he made her sound like such a worthless piece of shit just because she charged money for what most women had to give freely in their relationship, like some kind of slut. She could say a lot of things, make a lot of claims, but she didn't want to waste her breath, or her time. This was the last time she'd see Bobby Livingston anyway, unless they happened to pass one another in the grocery isle. So in the end she decided to hit him with a low blow of her own, and smiled at him.

"Well," she chirped. "Now I see why Barbara left you. Makes sense, if you ever talked ta her like that. Have nice life, Bobby."

Before she could catch his reply to that, she left the room and pattered down the stairs, vaguely hearing him bark, "Yeah? Well don't let the door hit ya on the way out!" And she laughed at his pitiful excuse for a comeback.

She was going to miss Bobby's money.

Maybe not Bobby himself though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so basically Roxanne decided not to be a hooker anymore *shrug


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another warning for drug usage in this chapter.

Brick could handle a lot of shit from members, but if there was one thing he hated more than being hassled or picked on, being stuck with shit jobs, or being publically embarrassed, it was being treated like a bitch. He could handle the haizing, the dumb nickname, having to give up his seat for a member, fetch somebody a beer or be the unlucky bastard stuck hanging around outside watching the door at Prunty's, checking I.D.s and accepting cash from white collar customers that had to pay the cover charge, instead of cozying up to the women inside with a beer in his hand. He could even handle having to clean the toilets or scrub the floors with a toothbrush. 

But there was nothing more emasculating than having to ride on the back seat of a bike like a Hunnie or somebody's old lady.

He hated that the most, so Billy was sure to do it quite often, snickering every time he glanced in the side view mirror and saw that scowl on Brick's reddened face.

But he had to hand it to the boy. He was willing to put up with it just the same as anything else, even if he didn't like it. Would do just about anything to earn that patch that said 'Member'. He was good to the Ladies, never disrespected the higher ups, and took their teasing in stride, sometimes with some pretty clever comebacks that showed he could dish out just about as much as he could take. The boy had a fire in his soul, just like the rest of them, and it was evident to Billy that when the time came, provided he was willing to do what was necessary to earn his patch, the little shitbrick was sure to become a full fledged member of the Pagan outlaws, and earn his place in their world.

It came as a bit of a surprise to Billy though, when he'd first started asking about joining the club. He'd been apprenticing for Billy for a few years already, helping him run his father's garage, and was pretty handy to have around as a mechanic, but one day he'd started asking questions, curious about Billy's life. He loved bikes, had impressed Billy with his vast knowledge of them, but Billy would never have pegged him for the type. He didn't grow up around it. None of his family or friends were outlaws, they were all pretty clean cut characters, and while he never dared to say one cross word about the Pagans in Billy's presence, Brick never seemed too interested in their world. 

This was not to say he was a model citizen though. He got in trouble with the law all the time. He'd spent more time in juvy than actually in school as an adolescent, and when he came of age, he was thrown out of bars left and right for causing trouble of some kind. Ended up in the back of a city police car once, after he found his girlfriend in bed with another man, as he'd dragged the son of a bitch out of his apartment by the collar and bashed his head on the pavement. He was a roughneck too. Partied and drank, smoked a little weed now and then, but his preference was for pills if he could get his hands on them. 

Asking Billy if he knew how to score some hydrocodone was what initially led to a conversation about the club. He'd gotten into pills after losing his parents, and was looking for his fix. But what Brick was truly searching for out of life, what he really needed, he wouldn't find in the bottom of a prescription bottle. He was alone in the world, and what he really needed was a friend he could count on, a brother to have his back. He was a young drifter in need of a new home, and a new family. Perhaps that's why Billy took such a liking to Brick. He drew a lot of parallels between them. Billy quickly attached himself to Brick like any father would a son. 

His own father would probably be turning in his grave to learn he was a member of the Pagans, but they were his family now, and Brick could be a part of that, provided he was willing to prove himself. He was willing to so far, but he still cursed and muttered under his breath about being stuck on the back of a bike, as Billy rolled into the parking lot in front of Davenport's and pulled to a stop. Waiting out front for the garage to open was a young man of similar age, an old high school friend of Brick's, who sat scrolling through his phone and smoking a cigarette next to a cobalt blue Kawasaki Ninja. The boy, named Colt, laughed when he saw Brick on the back of Billy's motorcycle.

"Dude they're making you ride like a bitch?" he commented, flicking his cigarette to the pavement, when Billy pulled in and shut off the engine.

Brick, after scrambling off the bike the moment it was stationary, just nodded and said, "Yeah, laugh it up, chicken shit. It's still more manly than ridin' that piece o' shit foreign model." He pointed to the Ninja.

Billy snorted. Brick was a real chip off the old block, in his opinion. Colt just shrugged at the comment, then responded with, "Yeah, well you outta see the nice piece of ass I picked up just last night with that 'foreign piece of shit'."

"Bullshit, lemme see," Brick said, ambling over to see the picture Colt showed him on his cell phone of the chick he hooked up with. 

Billy just leaned back in the saddle of his Indian and lit up a cigarette, only mildly curious. He could still remember being Brick's age and not caring who's soul he had to sell to get a hot little thing, much less how he had to walk, talk or dress to get him some, and the only thing that mattered was getting his hands on some tight pussy. But one of these days they were going to wake up and realize there was more to life than ass and tits, and more to a woman than what she had between her legs, but he wouldn't bother correcting them. For one, it made him feel old as dirt, and two, what was the one thing that had been on his mind the last couple of days?

Tessa, so he had no room to talk.

But he straightened a little in his seat when Brick mentioned her.

"Man you shoulda seen this girl at the house we were just at," he said, pulling a menthol from his pocket and lighting it. "Chick was fine as hell. Like ta bang her guts out. Ass, tits, you name it, she had it, man she was the whole fuckin' package." 

He shot Billy a knowing grin, like he was in on some secret, and puffed on his cigarette. Obviously he assumed Billy wouldn't get offended since Tessa wasn't there to hear what he said about her, and no need to be polite in present company, but Billy's jaw ticked a little at Brick's description of her. He should take it as a compliment, that another man might find the woman he wanted so desirable, but despite his fondness for the boy, for some reason the thought of Brick going anywhere near Tessa made him want to whip out his pistol and blow the back of his skull out of his dirty blonde head.

It surprised Billy, that he was so jealous for a change, when it never bothered him when it came to women like Candice. Hell, the first time Brick asked if Prospects were allowed to fuck the Hunnies, the very first name that flew out of Billy's mouth was that damnable woman's. He didn't rightly care if they fucked around. Matter of fact he encouraged it. Said that's what Hunnies were for, because Prospects weren't allowed to touch the Pagans' Ladies. So if he wanted something easy and didn't feel like chasing after some Collie, he could always call her up and she'd always be willing. But he seethed at the thought of Tessa belonging to some other man than Billy and fought the urge to strangle Brick.

He didn't pick up on Billy's irritation though. But he changed the subject. "So whatchya want?" he asked Colt, who pointed to his Ninja.

"It's needin' an oil change," he said simply. 

Brick rolled his eyes. "A fuckin' oil change? You're tellin' me you ain't never done it yourself?"

Colt threw up both hands and huffed, "Well I ain't no fuckin' mechanic."

But any man with half a brain could look up online how to drain the oil pan on their bike and change a fucking oil filter then pour fresh oil in the thing. It wasn't that hard. It was some of the most basic mechanical shit to do on any motor. That was like making a garage appointment just to change a tire. Or calling Triple A just to complain about being low on windshield wiper fluid. Oh but Brick was slick about it though. "Well damn, that's probably gonna take all night," he lied, and Colt cursed, hanging his head, muttering 'shit'. "That shit takes time, man. Ya gotta drain it and everything..." He trailed off. Then he puffed on his menthol. "It's gonna cost ya too."

"Damn," Colt sighed. "Alright. I'll call Becky and see if she can give me a ride home."

"You do that. We'll call ya when she's ready."

It was hard for Billy to keep a straight face after hearing all that. Even harder for Brick to keep a straight one saying all that. But he did somehow. After Becky picked up Colt in her little green hatchback and they drove away, Brick shook his head. "Goddamn he's dumb," he said and Billy laughed. They pushed Colt's Ninja into the garage and Brick got started on the oil change while nearby Billy replaced the distributor cap on another bike. They had the radio on and jammed out to some rock music as they worked, and things were quiet between them for the most part. Brick had some hydros on him he was willing to share, so they took a break to split some.

They stood by the work bench and hummed along with a Creedence Clearwater song - Revival, not Revisited, so it was John Fogerty singing Heard It Through The Grapevine - while Brick crushed up two 10 mg tablets tucked inside the plastic wrap from his cigarette pack with the blunt end of his lighter. 

Finally Brick asked, "That Tessa chick, she seein' anybody that ya know of?"

Billy scratched his beard for a moment, briefly considered lying, but then shrugged and said, "No, not that I know of. Why?"

Brick chuckled. "Cause she's hot," he answered simply. "Ya think she'd ever go for a guy like me?"

Billy slowly shook his head. "Couldn't say."

Matter of fact, he wasn't even one hundred percent certain he knew why she wouldn't take Billy himself for a spin. But he knew she didn't drink, do any kind of drugs, or even smoke cigarettes. If she had any tattoos, he couldn't see them, was just so nice and polite to people, and Billy couldn't picture her being interested in the prospect of a motorcycle club. Let alone one day be somebody's old lady. She wasn't anything like the women that usually flocked. She might think Brick was 'cute' and go on a date with him, maybe even sleep with him, but he couldn't see the relationship working out for very long. "Yeah you're probably right," Brick sighed. "I probably ain't even her type."

He split the powder into two equal lines with his bank card, then rolled up a dollar bill to snort one up his nose, then handed it to Billy, who hunched over the table next. 

"I can tell ya one thing," the Pagan spoke, after snorting the line then sniffling several times, eyes watering, "I highly doubt she's the type o' girl that would go out with a guy that does shit like this." He pointed to the tiny bits of powder left over. Brick hardly took offense to it, just shrugged and nodded like he was inclined to agree. "Or wears that," Billy added, gesturing to the denim vest Brick wore that didn't have patches on it, but instead the word Prospect in bold black lettering sewn into the back of it. Billy was half inclined to think that's why Tessa didn't like him. Wasn't his age, his looks or lack thereof. But the cut he wore that said Vice President. He thought it was awfully uncanny to consider.

That there were two women in his life at the moment that judged him purely by that title, but one would kill to get piece of him, and the other would rather stay far away from him. Billy briefly wondered how the instance would play out if Tessa and Candice ever met, but then decided he'd rather not live through such a nightmare. But when he told Brick in not so many words that he'd never get a girl like Tessa long as he was wearing that vest, the boy glanced down at it, chuckling. "Hell, as fine lookin' as she is, almost makes me wanna take it off," he laughed, then started cleaning up the tray on the table and setting it aside.

Billy scoffed, rolling his eyes. Brick was only joking of course, so he didn't get angry, but as he lit up another cigarette, he said, "Women come an' go, shithead. Whatchya gon' give up all your hard work an' progress, all the hoops ya had ta jump through to get this far, just for a piece of ass, that probably ain't gonna give a damn about you come mornin' anyhow?" He puffed on his cigarette. Brick just shrugged and lit one of his own. "I'll give ya some advice that a man once gave me when I was your age," he said and Brick rolled his eyes next, knowing by his tone that there was about to be some magnanimous life changing widsom to be had.

Billy smirked. 

"Now I didn't wanna listen either, of course," he started, making Brick snort, "Cause at your age the only thing on my mind was havin' a pair o' tits in my face, an' I wasn't complainin'. I was pretty damn happy with that arrangement. Any man would be. But he said to me, 'Now son, you listen an' you listen good: One of these days you're gonna wake up and realize that there ain't no piece of ass in this world that's worth dyin' just to get his hands on." Brick sobered a little at that and attentively listened to what Billy said next like he'd quoted the Bible and Brick the good little Christian boy hung onto his every word. 

"But a good woman, a faithful woman, the kind that would give her life for ya? Who's willin' ta die for ya, maybe even kill for ya too, is the kind that's worth the effort of keepin' around." He took another long drag off his cigarette. "Any man could walk in a bar an' find some pretty little Collie to keep him happy for a while," he continued. "Go out an' find him some sweet little thing to keep him warm at night, an' she might look nice, be real easy too, but a good woman? The kind that'll be loyal to ya, an' treat ya right? Those women are rare. Ya gotta earn a woman like that. And any woman that would make you choose between your brothers, your family, your way of life, and her? That ain't the kinda woman you want to have around anyway."

"Now I ain't sayin' a girl like Tessa wouldn't be good to ya. Tessa's a fine young woman. Hell, she's a fuckin' angel. They really don't make women like her anymore. But all I'm sayin' is don't throw away what ya got now all on a chance that a girl like Tessa might be good for ya. Me? I'd fuck that girl's brains out in a fuckin' heartbeat, but ain't no pussy is worth more than family." He jerked his thumb at the back of his vest. "Ya earn that patch an' the right to wear it, your brothers will be willin' ta take bullet for ya. Every one of 'em. An' the Lady wearin' your name on her jacket? Just as willin, if not more. If you're patient, you'll have a woman like that. But not if you take off that vest."

He dropped his cigarette to the concrete floor and stomped on it to put it out, then added, "Cause one of these days, your gonna need a woman that's willin' to lie for ya, 'cause your life just might depend on it. Your ol' lady will do that for ya. She'll risk her life ta save your neck. But ain't no slut's gonna put her life on the line for ya like that. Ain't worth it to them."

Brick considered all that before puffing one last time on his smoke before putting it out and cursing with a chuckle, "Well damn man, I was just tryna get laid. You didn't have ta come at me with all that philosophical shit. I get what you're sayin', but I mean goddamn."

Billy laughed too. "Yeah, I get it," he said. Then he thought for a second. "If you're just tryna getchya some, wontchya just go see Candice? You know she'll put out for ya."

Brick shook his head. "Not as of last night," he said. "Stopped by to see her and she told me to hit the road. Said she wasn't fuckin' no Prospects. None o' them good ole boys either. Said she's strictly fuckin' members now. Told me ta come back when I had a patch on."

Billy inwardly cringed at that. He knew what that meant. If Candice was turning other men away, it meant she was looking to be somebody's Lady now, and Billy could take a guess as to who she wanted. "Well shit," he muttered. "I'll take ya out to Prunty's tonight an' we'll find somebody for ya then." Brick perked up at the prospect of getting laid tonight, to which Billy just laughed and shook his head at the boy, clapping him on the shoulder then said, "Come on, let's get back to it," And both got back to work fixing the bikes in the garage. What he wouldn't give to have half the boy's enthusiasm, or even a quarter of his talent with motors. Billy Sr would've like him probably.

Most people did, usually.

Billy shuddered to think of Roxy's sweet angelic little girl maybe taking a liking to him too. 

He really didn't think he could stand to see another man have what he coveted so wantonly.

But he had to eat his words:

No hot piece of ass was worth giving up what he already had, no matter how tempting.

But to his misfortune, his only alternative might just end up being the one woman he didn't want. He just hoped to hell Snake didn't approve of Candice belonging to him. Ladies had to get the President's approval to be somebody's P.O. And being miserable for the rest of his days seemed like a very dim prospect indeed. But a few minutes later he was pulled from his thoughts when Brick's phone started ringing in his pocket. He watched him wipe his hands with a rag then reach for it, putting it on speaker and Billy heard Colt say, "You dickless fuckin' bastard! It does not take all goddamned night to do a fuckin' oil change, ya lyin' son of a-"

Click.

Brick hung up on him, then he and Billy both erupted in roarous laughter, and all things considered, it was a pretty damned good day.


	25. Chapter 25

Tessa and Snake stayed for lunch at Remi's, and Tessa got to meet Dani's two daughters. Hannah was ten, Lily just turned eight, and both girls took a fast liking to Tessa, thought she was very pretty, and sat her down at the dining room table after lunch to talk her ear off while they braided her hair. Tessa wasn't about to refuse. She thought both girls were absolutely precious, so she sat and listened with utmost patience while the girls stood on either side of her, threading their fingers through her long hair. Tina, another one of the member's ladies, helped Dani clean up after lunch, while the men lounged in the living room, talking about the weather and other things.

She'd watched their interactions with them, having not much to say while they ate, and mostly listened to conversation around her. They seemed very much like your average married couples. Nothing out of the ordinary. So far the women appeared to be very subservient of the men, they were the ones who cooked and cleaned, and if asked would fetch them a beer or a cigar. This wasn't uncommon in their town. Women were typically raised to be homemakers. But what struck Tessa was how much they seemed to enjoy caring for their men, and vice versa. The men were very loving and affectionate as well, and seemed to live very ordinary lives. If she didn't know they were members of a motorcycle club, she never would've guessed just by watching them interact.

Even had normal jobs. They weren't typical, but they earned a steady income. Cassidy, Tina's old man, owned one of the tattoo parlors in town, and Remi himself worked as a gunsmith. He may have been a member of the club, and this was not to say he'd never broken the law, but as Remi had never been convicted of a felony, he was one of the few members legally allowed to own a firearm. Whatever he'd done to earn the favor of the former President, he'd gotten away with. But while such thoughts made Tessa nervous to consider, it also worked in Dani's favor that she should live with Remi, because if anyone ever threatened her children, Remi could be within his legal rights to defend them.

But all in all these people seemed very nice, and she was almost sad when it was finally time to leave, then after saying their goodbyes, Tessa had to climb on the back of Snake's Harley once more. He didn't say a word to her, simply rode them back across town, then out of city limits, taking the long ride back to her mother's house. Roxanne still wasn't back yet when they arrived, so the house was empty, but that was no excuse to slack off on her chores, so the moment they walked inside Tessa almost immediately started cleaning the house. There were beer bottles and solo cups on nearly every surface still, from the party Snake and Roxanne had thrown the night before, so she grabbed a plastic bag and tossed everything in it.

"Wonchya save those bottle caps," Snake had requested, so she did, keeping them in a separate pile, eventually setting them on the kitchen table, and though she was curious as to why he wanted them, she didn't question. Just milled about the downstairs until everything was picked up, while Snake kicked back in the recliner. Finally she was finished for the most part, so she flopped down on the couch. She was ready for her second wind, and her second cup of coffee for the day, so she contemplated starting a fresh pot, when Snake sat forward in his seat, and said, "Ya like card games, little girl?" She shrugged at that. "Ever played poker before?"

"No I ain't ever played poker."

Snake smiled. "I'll teach ya then."

Turns out the bottle caps were to be used in place of poker chips, and before long the two of them were at the kitchen table with two piles of them divided equally between them, and a deck of cards Snake had retrieved from the saddle bag of his Harley. It made Tessa think of the Wild West, the way Pagans seemed to obsess over guns, gambling and old west outlaw themed names. It was probably just a coincidence though, since not all of them were named after famous outlaws. Just two of them at the moment. Cassidy, in honor of Butch Cassidy, the infamous train robber, and Billy the Kid of course. But Snake, having no other way to relate to Tessa, but obviously wanting to connect to her, taught her how to play poker.

He was a very patient teacher, first told what every hand meant in the game, what hands would win, which ones would lose, and how to place bets. She caught on fairly quickly and was soon winning more hands than she was losing, but Snake could very well have been taking it easy on her. She decided she liked poker, and was more inclined to think she was starting to like Snake too. Just a little at least. He may have been a lot of things, but he wasn't quite so terrible like she'd initially thought. He certainly wasn't anything like Captain had purportedly been. After some time spent playing, he asked, "So whaddya think of Dani and her girls?"

Tessa smiled. "I like them. They're very nice. Hannah and Lily seem very sweet."

"Yeah they're good kids." He took another sip of the coffee she'd given him after making a fresh pot, and in turn she took a slow sip of hers, eyes on the cards in her hand.

"Dani told me about what happened with her husband," she chose to say, rearranging the cards to put them in proper order. "About what ya did for her."

"Did she now?" he commented. He slid some of his bottle caps toward the middle, and Tessa had a feeling Snake had a good hand, though he could be bloughing. He'd explained to her what it was and how it was a good way to get people to fold their hand, opt out of the round, and inevitably win the chips on the table. 

"Why'd ya do that?" she asked. "Help Dani and her little girls like that?"

He shrugged, like the answer was so simple. "Because it was the right thing to do."

He set his cards face down on the table to light up a cigarette, then puffed on it.

"I don't get it," she admitted. "I mean, you break the law all the time. How's come you'd be worried about doin' the right thing?"

Snake chuckled at her. "Doin' the right thing and followin' the letter of the law ain't always the same thing, little girl."

Well, that was probably true. She was always reading news articles that depicted how unfair their system of justice could be sometimes. How people could bend the law, or find loopholes in it, that allowed them to get away with terrible things. But she couldn't understand how a man that attempted to commit murder would care about a battered woman and her two daughters. Tentatively she said, "I read about what ya did them twenty years ago. Rode up next ta that man on your motorcycle an' shot him." She chewed her lip with her teeth. "They said you was tryna kill him. That's why they put ya away for ten years, for attempted murder."

He shrugged a shoulder, then nodded a little, squinting when cigarette smoke got in his eyes as he took another drag. "Yeah, I was," he admitted. He didn't sound wracked with guilt, but neither did he sound proud of it anymore. Just more or less stating a fact. "I was young, and pretty fuckin' dumb back then. Didn't really do a whole lotta thinkin' things through. But back then I woulda done just about anythin' ta earn that patch." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, gesturing to the patch on his denim vest. "Back then I had absolutely no regard for anyone or anything whatsoever, and the only thing I regretted was gettin' caught. Prison food don't really sit well with the stomach, ya know."

He inhaled a deep sigh.

"But I did my time," he continued. "An' when I got out, I'd learned a few things. Wasn't near as hot headed as I was when I went in. Learned how to be patient. Have to be in prison. Ya ain't goin' nowhere, ya aint gettin' out, and the only consistant thing is the number of people that are gonna piss you off on a daily basis. An' I learned how to be more subtle about things. How to bide my time. Really get to know people before I jumped the gun about somethin'. How to watch people. You can really learn a lot about a man just by watchin' em. So by the time I got out, I weren't the same man I was when I went in. An' what mattered to me wasn't quite the same either."

He inhaled another drag from his cigarette, while across from him Tessa listened attentively to his slow drawl. She could hear it in his voice, in the slow quiet way he always spoke, see it in his actions, that patience had somehow tempered this man. 

"But when I got out, my brothers were waitin' for me. I had a life to live on the outside. A family, and a code to follow. That's what it means wearin' this vest. It's why I did everything I've done. For a family that would take a bullet for me. Men that I could put my trust in, men that trusted me. That's more valuable than most will ever realize. But..." He paused to take one last drag off his cigarette before stamping it out. "Well, I ain't gettin' any younger," he admitted. "And as I get older, the more I see of the world, the more I see it fallin' apart...the more I wonder if this life's really worth livin' if I can't protect the ones I love...And the older I get, the more and more I can't stand to watch my family tear itself apart."

"Is that why you did it?" Tessa asked. "Why ya gave Dani to Remi after Captain got locked away?"

He nodded. "I'm highly tolerant of many things, little girl, but the one thing I can stand to see the least is a man puttin' his hands on a woman for no goddamn reason." Tessa nodded at that, then shifted her gaze to the table between them. "So when the man that proceeded me decided to leave the runnin' of the club to me in his absence, I decided to fix that little problem. End of story." He got up and strode across the kitchen to the coffee pot to add a little more in his cup, then sat back down. "Captain was a different man than me," he said. "And while we might agree on many things, that was never one of those things."

That was all Snake had to say on the subject, and judging by the irritation in his tone, Tessa thought it wise never to speak of the former President or any of his actions again. She had a feeling Snake's irritation stemmed from more than just a disagreement on how Pagans treated their old ladies. But whatever it was, she highly doubted Snake would remark on the subject. The less she knew about what Pagans discussed during their weekly meetings behind closed doors, the better, most likely. They finished their hand of poker, and Snake won over Tessa's four of a kind with a royal flush, then he decided to change the subject. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, eyeing Tessa across from him, before proposing his question.

"Why do ya let your momma talk to you the way she does?" he asked, and it was Tessa's turn to be unsettled for a moment. 

She didn't know how to answer that. By no means did she think he was a good man still, but she wasn't quite so tense around him, knowing how he felt about women being mistreated. But he obviously cared for Roxanne in some way. For some reason, he wanted Roxanne of all people, that much was evident. Whether or not he truly loved her, Tessa hadn't the faintest idea, but he liked her, and Tessa didn't wish to speak ill of the woman and piss him off. When she was younger, Tessa would have defended her mother to the very end, and to hell with what people thought on how she raised her daughter. But the last couple of days had shaken her to the core, and opened her eyes about a lot of things involving Roxanne Middleton.

Tessa scratched her nose, then said, "Well, 'cause she's right. Her house, her rules. Long as I live here, I gotta do as she says."

"You're twenty years of age, little girl. You ain't a child no more, an' you work ta help take care of this house, just the same as she does. This is just as much your house as it is hers."

"It's in her name," Tessa pointed out, shifting nervously in her seat. The land contract for the house was between Roxanne Middleton and Sam Grady. Not Roxanne and Tessa both.

"You're payin' the bills and puttin' food in that fridge same as she is," Snake countered. "You have just as much of a right to be here, baby doll. Whatchya let that woman walk all over you for?"

Tessa thought long and hard on how to answer that, before settling on, "If I don't like it, I ain't gotta stay here, but I don't...well, I don't have anywhere else to go anyhow. And as long as I live here, I gotta respect momma's wishes. Besides, I love my momma. I don't wanna leave her with nobody else ta look after her."

"She's got me now," he said, and Tessa stared down at her lap, picking at her nails.

"That might be so, but momma did raise me better than ta disrespect my elders," she said. "An' in this house, what momma says is how it goes. That's just the way o' things."

"That don't make it fair to you, little girl."

When he said that, it clicked in her mind to throw his own words back at him, but with a twist. 

She stood up from the table and carried her coffee mug to the sink.

"What's right an' what's fair ain't always the same thing," she said, turning the faucet on and running water to rinse her cup. 

She heard Snake give a small snort at that statement, before he slowly erupted in a low chuckle.

"Ya have me there, darlin'," he admitted, meaning he had no comeback for that, and so he dropped the argument. "I think you and I might be a bit more alike than you realize," he said, and maybe he was right. "You're awful clever, little girl. Maybe too clever. A shame your daddy never stuck around to see how you turned out. He might be proud." Tessa snorted at that. She didn't think she'd rightly care to meet the kind of man that would knock up a fifteen year old girl, then abandon her and her unborn child. But in all likelihood, Roxanne didn't know who her father was because she'd slept with so many men that it could be any one of several. She just didn't know which one to pin it on. 

"You're a good girl, Tessa," Snake told her when she sat back down, as he picked up the cards and shuffled the deck. "Reckon any man would be proud to have such a sweet child like you for a daughter." She smiled a little at the compliment. Snake studied her for a moment before adding with a smirk, "Ya know ya make me think o' that song. Sweet Child Of Mine. Ever heard it?"

"The Guns N Roses song? Yeah I've heard it. Plays all the time on the radio at work. I like that song."

"So do I."

Snake surprised her a little when he set the cards down to lean back and reach in his pocket for his cell phone. He took a moment to look up the song and it started playing. She couldn't help but smile when he started singing along with all the lyrics as he dealed the cards between the two of them and they played another hand of poker. He didn't sound too bad. He could sing mostly on key, and he actually made her laugh as he jammed out in his seat, playing air guitar and singing. She was starting to understand why her mother liked him, if not just for his connections and the drugs he had access to. Snake was a charmer, in his own right. 

She hoped for his sake Roxanne wanted more out of the relationship than dope.


	26. Chapter 26

[Knoxville's Faceclaim](https://66.media.tumblr.com/0f44c6d62542e4c39ece85418df838ec/04ac8ece184569f0-ac/s1280x1920/5ed2d264594b024606f0c7a6eeeef9e1d71fc80b.jpg)

Snake had prolonged the inevitable for as long as he could, hanging around the kitchen playing poker with Tessa, trying to get her to open up to him and maybe not be quite so defensive around him, but he could no longer put off keeping his promise to Remi. Knoxville was going to continue to be a problem for them, if Snake didn't step in. He'd give the man a fair warning this time, to back off and leave those girls alone before he made things worse for himself, or have to deal with the Cabinet. But Snake did this for himself too, for his own peace of mind, hopping on his bike and heading over to Knoxville's place.

Still humming and singing that damnable Guns N Roses song under his breath, all the way into town, just so he could look in the man's eyes and see for himself if Knox might have something up his sleeve. If he had some kind of ulterior motive at play here, Snake would sniff it out. It could be nothing, but the President had learned a long time ago never to take something at face value, and if there was one talent he'd acquired over the years, it was attracting trouble, so it would be his luck to have a bad apple in the bunch. But if Knox was planning something, Snake would know. He meant what he said to Roxanne's daughter. 

You can tell a lot about a man just by watching him, and lately he didn't particularly like what he saw in Knoxville. 

He liked what he saw in that little girl though, and was head over heels in love with her already. 

Couldn't help but gaze at Tessa with the same level of fondness that he did Dani's girls, or any one of his brothers' children. So despite the gravity of the situation at hand, he couldn't help but smile a little, at least when he thought about Tessa. She'd started singing along with him at some point when they were listening to that song in the kitchen, just quietly under her breath, and he could barely hear it, but what he did hear sounded beautiful. Rewind the clock back twenty years and he'd have given his left nut to get his hands on such a sweet young woman like her, and wouldn't hesitate to bend that pretty little girl over the kitchen table. 

If it weren't for Roxanne, he might consider it now, but he could tell he'd have his hands full as it were, just keeping her mother's attention on him, and away from other men. The devil only knew what he'd do with a second woman to keep happy. But he had that sinking feeling still, that living with both women was not going to be easy. Nothing was ever simple when it came to the fairer sex. Though he'd always a fascination with their complex nature, and felt a strong desire to unravel their mystery. It was partly why he always attracted such trouble. Because he could never resist a good mystery, and women were the root of all great mysteries in life.

Some would say he'd gone soft, simply for his fondness for women, and his bother to understand their beguiling ways.

But the closer he got to Knoxville's pad, the more his mind wandered away from thoughts of Tessa and her mother, and back to the task at hand, which was Knox himself. He parked his bike on the curb out front, hung his helmet by the strap over the handlebar, and strolled up to the door with an easy going smile on his face to conceal the foreboding feeling churning in him. He rapped his knuckles on the glass of the storm door and waited for an answer. When Knoxville opened the door he looked surprised, and nervous, to see the President standing there. "Hey, brother," he greeted, giving his best attempt at a smile, then glanced back behind him. Like someone was inside maybe. 

Or, and more likely, as if he expected to hear someone at the back door, loading a rifle.

Like he was calculating the odds of survival, should he make a break for it, try to run, should Snake pull his pistol on him.

Like he expected this to be his final stand.

Just that half second of hesitation on Knox's part told Snake everything he needed to know.

"How's it goin' man," Snake drawled slowly and evenly with a trusting smile, but narrowings his eyes in suspicion at the man.

"Come on in," Knoxville offered, opening the door wider for Snake, who entered without fear or pause on his part, choosing to let Knox believe for the moment that he trusted him still. No need to jump the gun just because Knox looked shifty. He always looked shifty these days. Snake eyed the living room as Knox closed the door behind him and sniffed, rubbing his nose, like he'd just finished snorting a line of something, or was about to. He lived in a one bedroom efficiency apartment nowadays, since he hadn't Dani's income to depend on anymore, and he snorted too much of his profit to afford a better place to live. Snake never liked that about him, that he cut so deeply into club profit with his habit. 

Out of any of them, Knoxville had always been the worst. But it had never bothered Captain that several of their outfit put more heroin up their nose or in their arm than they managed to sell, because they had other means of keeping business afloat when he handled things. They were working bigger operations back then, moving more product, and this was not to mention the sex trafficking, smuggling and arms dealing on the side. Captain was old fashioned, considered himself one of the last 'true outlaws' of the times, and refused to change with them. If it was illegal, Captain wanted in on it, and expected each and every one of his men to take part in it. 

He didn't trust a man that hesitated to pull the trigger, or sell a product. Any man that questioned his decisions was the first to fall under suspicion on Captain's part. If they so much as looked in his direction wrong, he'd have them stripped down to nothing that instant, right there in Prunty's Bar, in front of the club, to check to make sure they weren't wearing a wire. Even Snake himself at one point, even though there was no one he trusted more. No one he'd favored higher above the rest. Some would say Captain's own addiction to heroin made him paranoid. Others would say he was deranged. When a clinical psychologist assessed his competence to stand trial, he'd been diagnosed with sociopathy.

Snake would just call it how it was. 

Captain was just one bad apple, it was as simple as that.

A bad apple that had grown careless, believing himself to be untouchable, because he held the loyalty of so many.

But no man was truly invincible.

Lately, Barney "Knoxville" Stevens was another thorn in Snake's side, and Snake had a gut feeling this one was trouble too.

Knox led Snake back to his cramped kitchen where he'd lain a mirror on its side on the kitchenette. On the mirror's surface was a confection of offwhite powder and his nose itched just looking at it. Knox gestured for him to sit, then took the empty seat across from him, picked up the razor blade on the mirror and started cutting the powder into lines. It was simply protocol to offer a visiting member of the Cabinet a cut of whatever they just so happened to be partaking in, so without the need to offer, Knox automatically split what he had into two equal lines, expecting to share with Snake. He hadn't a fear of it being laced with something, though it was probably cut down.

Knox went first and sniffed the line up his nose, then held out the piece of a McDonald's straw he'd been using to Snake. It had been a while since he'd snorted straight heroin. He was too used to loading a needle on the rare occasion he partook nowadays. He was worried for a second he'd burst a blood vessel, sniffed up part of it, then tasted the chemicals in what dripped down the back of his sinuses. It was definitely cut down, wasn't pure heroin, but it still knocked him for a loop when he snorted the rest of it. "Goddamn man," he chuckled. "That's more crack than cocaine," he joked, and Knoxville chuckled too, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah that's - uh - that's all I had til the next shipment comes in," he admitted with a shrug. "But I talked to Dezzy though. We're all set for next Saturday night."

"Good," Snake nodded, leaning back in his seat. 

He wondered if he had to worry about sending Knoxville to meet with their suppliers from out of state. It was his job to meet with Desmond, but briefly Snake wondered if there was a connection in that. He promised Lily they'd be together soon, and the only way that would ever happen was over Snake's dead body. If Knoxville made some kind of deal with Dezzy on the side to remove Snake from the equation, he'd have all of his enforcers at his disposal, and whatever he promised in return, Snake highly doubted the club would like that outcome. Snake wasn't the only one he'd need to remove from the picture either.

He'd need to take out the entire Cabinet.

Of course, this was all on a hunch, but it was a good hunch. Knoxville had been one of the votes against putting Snake in office, and had many reasons to want Snake to be taken out. Namely, his obsession with Dani, and their two daughters. But Snake was sure there was more, something he was missing, some key to the puzzle that would ultimately crack the code and tip Snake off to what he was planning. But he put all that aside for the moment, compartmentalizing his thoughts for the time being, when Knoxville propped his elbows on the table and prompted him. "So what brings the Prez by to see little ole me?" he asked, smirking, reaching behind his ear for the cigarette he'd tucked there. 

Snake inhaled through his nose. 

"I was merciful enough to let you see those girls," he began, watching Knox's clueless expression slowly morph into one of irritation. "And the agreement was, you'd see them for an hour. Not two hours, not three." He slowly leaned forward across from Knox and rested on his elbows, mirroring his stance at the table. "And certainly not at the schoolyard during recess."

Knox leaned back, nostrils flaring. Obviously not expecting his child to spill her guts and tell her mother what had happened, nor had he expected Snake himself to be concerned enough to see him personally about the matter. But while it seemed like small potatoes in comparison to bigger problems the club was always facing, this was one minor issue that might just happen to preceed a larger one later on. Snake would rather confront it now, and personally do so. "I warned you what would happen if you went against that agreement," he said slowly, measuring every word spoken. "I'm gonna give you a warnin' this time, brother."

Knoxville sneered. "Them's _my_ kids, Snake Eyes," he said. "I should be able to see them whenever the hell I want to."

"You're lucky to see them at all," Snake said simply.

"So this is what ya come here for? Just ta give me a talkin' to, tell me ta leave my girls alone or else?"

"They ain't your girls, Knox, and they never were," Snake told him, then slowly rose from the table. It wasn't required, but it was polite to stand when your President stood, so Knox remained sitting. It was really all he could do in protest, because he didn't have the guts to do anything else. Never had. "I'm here now as courtesy," Snake said. "You are still my family, after all. So I thought I'd come ta see ya first. But if it happens again...I'll be the very _last_ thing you see."

He started to turn away, bent on leaving at that, when Knox said, "I always thought it would be Remi comin' to see me. Guess he's too much of a chicken shit after all, if he's sendin' you in his place."

Snake chuckled, pulling out a cigarette.

"You better _hope_ he doesn't come to see ya. Remi won't give you a warning before he shoots ya, Knox. You won't see him at all...Just that bullet comin' at your face."

He turned and sauntered back through the house and out the front door, taking the steps two at a time to his bike. Once he was outside he dropped his smile and curled his lip. Knox was no longer bothering to hide his disdain for Snake and the rest of the Cabinet, which wasn't a good sign. Insubbordinate behavior on his part meant he was confident he wouldn't have to tolerate them for much longer. The smart thing to do would be to kill him now, before things got worse, but that wouldn't sit well with the club. Not without solid proof that Knoxville was working against the Pagans, or was scheming to take out the Cabinet. All Snake had was suspicion. But he'd gotten himself out of these types of situations before.

He'd ended greater men with far less means.

He could certainly do it again.


	27. Chapter 27

[Denise's Faceclaim (the lovely Anna Kendrick)](https://66.media.tumblr.com/2db1cc5c321627e2c03d1670efc75ff3/30e3cfbfe8121c21-9b/s540x810/d6e119c992437f3add0ab26d32dc6f56c98825f0.jpg)

Brick once more suffered the indignity of riding on the back of Billy's motorcycle as they headed to Prunty's that night, but he figured it was worth the benefit he'd reap later on. When they pulled into the parking lot, a handful of members were standing outside, and they laughed up a storm right along with Billy at how Brick was stuck riding with him, as far back on the seat as he possibly could without falling off, hands gripping the sidebars of the back seat. The members laughed, and they had their jokes, but they also clapped Brick on the back before he headed inside, commending him for being willing to tolerate the embarrassment. 

Prunty's was not only a bar, but the Pagans' clubhouse, he'd discovered. Brick hadn't known the details until recently when he opted to join, but it was a front for damned near everything the Pagans were involved in, which was mostly drugs, and it was also a place for members to hole up for the time being if they had no place else to go. The outside had a large wooden pavilion with picnic benches beneath it, and an empty field beside it where several times a year members would gather, set up a stage, and host a band that played live music. The Pagans' Ladies would organize the event, handle the catering, and set up tables and lawnchairs for anyone in attendance.

The inside didn't resemble a campground, but was more like a stripclub. Purportedly it had been, at least on the surface. It posed as a strip joint, but in reality it had been closer to a whore house, where even non-members could get their hands on a nice piece of ass for the right price, provided they kept their mouths shut about it and didn't squeal to the cops. The V.I.P. room in the back offered more than just a lap dance, and members were pimping out their Ladies to paying customers or business associates. That was all when the former President was in charge, and nowadays, while the women were still easy, no money exchanged hands, and no business was dealt out in the open like that.

On occasion the Hunnies might get together and have a wet t-shirt contest or something of the like, but while the interior stage was still intact, the strip poles had been taken down, and pool tables had been added. One too many underage girls being dicovered residing up in the apartments above effectively killed the illegal sex trafficking that took place. At present, Prunty's was as legitimate as Snake Eyes and the rest could make it. Charging a cover for entrance into the bar, checking I.D.s at the door, and keeping hush-hush about any business taking place behind closed doors. 

But most importantly, if any sexual acts took place, the women were all over eighteen, and it was of their own free will if they fucked any of the people inside.

Billy let Brick inside the club for free tonight, though normally he'd be expected to pay the cover charge same as any non-member before he earned his patch. But he'd been letting little things like that slide as of late, which gave Brick the impression he might be earning his membership soon. Of course that was no excuse to get sloppy, much less get comfortable, because they could just as easily change their minds, but that small vote of confidence made all the trouble seem worth it. Especially when Billy had offered to hook him up tonight. That was really the only benefit of being a Prospect so far. 

He wasn't allowed to attend meetings, or own his own bike until he was a member, and had much to endure before he'd earn that right, but he could still get laid, and here at Prunty's, pussy practically fell in his lap. It was like breathing in fresh air, stepping inside the establishment and being overwhelmed by the smell of alcohol, cigarettes and cigar smoke, as well as the sound of classic rock music blaring loudly from the speakers overhead, because he knew that somewhere in that bar would be a woman willing to get nasty with him if she hoped to impress the Pagans. Because that was the rule for Hunnies. They had to be willing to put out.

That was how they earned the respect of members. They had be willing to fuck. Otherwise they could forget about free drinks and had to pay the cover charge too, same as anyone else. Not to mention anyone that might be hoping to score free drugs. They could forget all about that too. They could say no, and no one was going to force them, but if they weren't willing to put out, they couldn't be Ladies either. Or so that was how Liz had explained it to him when he'd asked her one night. One of the shit jobs he was often given was being stuck behind the counter helping Liz run the bar instead of getting to hang with the members or cozy up to the women. So one night they got to talking about it.

The women that passed through Prunty's weren't prostitutes, but they had to be easy, or pay their way like everyone else, and that somehow made it legal. Brick had just shrugged off the logic and went with it, not rightly caring as long as he was allowed to fuck the women too. Except the Ladies of course. He wasn't allowed to touch any of the women with names on their jackets until he'd earned that right, Billy told him. But tonight, Brick was certain Billy had been fucking with him when he said he'd get him laid, as soon as they walked inside, saw the crowd, and Liz rushing to get people drinks, when Billy said, "Wonchya go help Liz."

Brick groaned. "Ya said you'd get me laid tonight," he complained and Billy rolled his eyes.

"I will, damnit, but ya gotta earn it first, ya dipshit. Now go help Liz."

His eyes shifted from Billy to Liz and then back to Billy before he sighed, nodded, and shouldered his way through the crowd and over to the bar, lifting the little chain that kept customers from going behind the counter and putting it back in place after stepping inside the gate. The worst part about being a Prospect was having to suffer the indignation of being treated like a woman, and minding the bar was one of the womens' jobs. But he wasn't considered a man in the eyes of the members until he wore that vest that said he was one of them, so he understood the logic in that. 

He just hated having to work for free. Prospects didn't get paid to mind the bar or clean the bathrooms. It was like community service, only correctional officers didn't laugh at your expense.

Just as Brick was walking behind the counter, Billy was leaning over it, whispering in Liz's ear, eyes on Brick the whole time and he could guess the conversation was about him. Especially when she glanced at Brick and her lips parted in a mischievous grin. He sighed and looked away, turning to the nearest customer at the bar and asking him if he was good, or wanted a fresh beer, then after being dismissed, started wiping down glasses for Liz. As much as he hated the implications behind bartending at Prunty's, he liked working with Liz at least. She was always polite to him, and behaved much like he imagined an older sister would. Liz was the one in charge of shaping up the Hunnies to be Ladies.

She was the one Snake put in charge of choosing what women would hang around the Pagans and what women had to hit the road. None of the women were allowed to be Pagan women without Liz's recommendation. She could always spot a rotten apple who was bound to cause trouble, and was given permission to kick them to the curb if she suspected they might. Loyalty mattered more to the Pagans than how nice their ass or big their tits were, as Billy had ingrained in him. Now some of the Ladies were quite attractive women, but they only earned the title by proving how well they'd take care of members and treat them right. By how respectful they were, and how willing to keep quiet about something they might overhear.

Liz sidled up to Brick after talking to Billy and patted his shoulder with a smile. "Hey Brick," she said and he smiled at her. Liz was always nice to him, even helpful in some ways. She may not know anything about what it meant to be a member of the club - women weren't allowed to be members themselves, much less were they involved in what happened behind closed doors during weekly meetings - but Liz was a big help in advising Brick on how to be a worthy Prospect, because she'd been involved with the Pagans for so many years, and remembered each and every Prospect to walk in and out of that swinging door at Prunty's Bar.

She knew what would be expected of the men same as the women looking to be Ladies. She was kind of like everyone's surrogate mother, in that regard. She raised the girls up to be proper Ladies, and helped raise the boys to be men. She chatted with Brick about this and that as the night progressed, and Brick made half an attempt to listen. Of course his eyes would wander on occasion to where Billy and a crowd of members gathered around the pool tables, shooting pool and talking up some of the women. There were some white collars tonight too, knocking back beer and chatting up Collies. That's what Liz and everybody liked to call their counterpart.

Some of them average looking men and women, but a couple looked to be country folk, who would probably be much happier at some honky tonk, listening to Hank Williams or some other country star, but Prunty's was the only bar in town that wasn't white collered all to hell. It was either Prunty's, or the High Life Lounge, a gambling joint out by the interstate, but while it served alcohol, it didn't offer the plethora of women on display and available to take home. Brick was distracted for a moment by one of those blue collared men about halfway through the night, when he'd started pestering one of the girls. She wasn't one of the Hunnies, but neither did she have a name on her jacket. A new face. Probably some stray that wandered in.

She was short and petite, with cherry red hair. Looked pretty, but young too. Had Brick been at the door tonight he would've been skeptical of her being over 18, let alone old enough to drink, and would question the validity of her I.D. But she had a mixed drink in her hand that Liz had made her just a half hour before, and she was sitting at the counter next to another girl of similar age, with black hair. They were sharing conversation when some redneck sidled up beside her and tried to talk to her. "Hey Liz?" Brick leaned in, tapping her shoulder to get her attention. When she looked his way he pointed to the girl. "She one o' the Hunnies?" he asked, and she shook her head.

"Nah," she said. "Them girls are new in town. Got ta talkin' when they first came in, said they just moved here from outta state about a month ago." Brick nodded at all that, then continued to watch the two women as he wiped down yet another whiskey glass. The man sitting next to them tapped the redhead on the shoulder and whispered something in her ear, most likely propositioning her, but when she shook her head 'no' at him, then turned back to her friend, he didn't get up and walk away. Instead he stared at her back, still looking very interested, and Brick got this nagging suspicion he was about to be a problem.

He turned to Liz and murmured, "That guy over there," He covertly gestured to him, "How many has he had?"

Liz looked him over for a second, then muttered, "One too many probably."

Now they were both watching him carefully. He leaned in a second time trying to get the girl's attention, but again she waved him off. If it happened again, he'd be thrown out. Prunty's didn't have bouncers, that's what Pagans were for, so if he continued to be a problem, they had the right to cut him off or throw him out if need be. One of the benefits of being a member was the privilege they had at Prunty's. To throw out non-members they didn't like the look of, or take the high ground in a dispute. If a fight broke out between two opposing parties, regardless of who started it, members were allowed to stay and non-members had to leave. 

The redneck that was bothering that girl grabbed her barstool and turned her toward him in her seat, pissing her off in the process, and Brick had seen enough at that. Brick spared another glance at Billy across the room, who was laughing at something before he leaned in to make his shot, and was just about to leave the bar, aiming to tap Billy on the shoulder and send him over, when Liz stopped him with a hand on his arm. "Go take care o' him," she instructed, and Brick blinked several times in surprise. He looked at the girl, then back at Liz. He wouldn't mind intervening, but he didn't think he was supposed to.

"What me? But I ain't a member," he reminded, because while he would absolutely love to lay that asshole flat, it wasn't his place to get involved. Yet, at least.

"You'll be one soon enough," Liz said with an affirmed nod. "So ya might as well get used ta steppin' up."

"But Billy said-"

"Billy's the one that told me ta have ya bounce tonight, jackass," she chuckled. "Now you go on over there an' rescue that pretty little Collie before she gets herself in trouble. Go on now." She ushered him away and after a quick breath, he nodded and stepped around the bar. As he was marching up to the asshole in the ugly cordory jacket, camo hat and construction boots, beer gut hanging over his belt, he was now grabbing the girl's arm and trying to pull her into his lap. Brick fumed at the sight and snatched him up by the collar, yanking him out of his seat. Then he shoved him against the bar and everyone closest to them paused what they were doing to watch.

He pulled the switchblade from his pocket and held it up to man's throat. "Whoa now, take it easy," he slurred as Brick sneered at him. 

"You American?" Brick asked.

"Well yeah?"

"Ya speak English?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Funny. Cause you don't seem ta know the meanin' o' the word 'no'." He pressed the knife harder against his neck. If he so much as swallowed, the sharpness of the blade would cut into him. "You come in here again, and touch any one these ladies like ya did her?" He leaned in close to his face. "I'll slit your goddamn throat. Ya understand me, friend?" Mutely the man nodded, so Brick let him go. "Now get the fuck outta here." After a quick look around, and probably realizing that no one in the establishment was going to come to his defence, he shuffled to the door and let it slam on his way out.

He'd be out in the parking lot calling someone to pick him up or calling the taxi service probably. If he was dumb enough to get behind the wheel of his truck after the shit he pulled tonight, Brick hoped to hell he wrapped it around a tree. He vaguely heard an engine start and assumed it would be the most likely scenario. He tucked his knife back in his pocket, and seeing as the dispute had been handled, so there was no further entertainment to spectate on, everyone turned back to conversation. But across the room he saw just the slightest nod of approval from Billy before he turned back to his pool game.

He was just about to walk back around the bar and head back to work when he heard a small voice say, "Thank you." He looked down to see the redhead smiling bashfully up at him, like he was some kind of hero.

"Welcome," he nodded, and would've left it at that, if not for her dark haired friend piping up behind her.

She sounded like she'd had just a bit too much to drink herself when she rolled her eyes said with a nasally city accent, "Like, oh my god, Denise, don't thank him." Brick blinked in confusion at that. Then he heard, "He probably only did it just because he's trying to get in your pants too. He's a biker. I highly doubt he did it just to be nice." She knocked back the rest of her drink, while Brick stared unamused at the girl, and her redheaded friend got nervous beside her, murmuring to her friend, "Shut the fuck up!" The raven haired girl scoffed. "What? It's a free country. I can say whatever the fuck I want. What is he gonna do? Shoot me?"

The redhead smacked her arm. "Seriously shut the fuck up, Lacy!" she growled. Then she turned to Brick. "I'm sorry. Just ignore her. She's just drunk. She didn't mean that."

While not inclined to forgive her, he liked the redhead, Denise, so he shrugged and said, "No skin off my nose."

"Oh wait, my mistake," Lacy laughed. "He's not even a real biker. He's just one of their Prospects. See look, it says it on his vest. Proossspecttt." The redhead's face was starting to match the color of her hair as she smashed her palm against it. "Do they have you do weird stuff like ride tricycles and wear funny hats? Or do you just lick their boots."

"I'm so sorry," Denise apologized. "Come on Lacy, let's go."

"You ladies have a nice night," Brick said as Denise pried her friend out of her stool and started dragging her toward the door. "Come back real soon!"

Once more Denise turned to mouth the word 'sorry' at him, with an apologetic face, before she turned and left the establishment with her ditsy friend. He could hardly care what her friend had said. They were both just a couple of city girls from out of town that obviously didn't know a damned thing about motorcycle clubs, except for what they saw on tv, so that wasn't what bothered him. What bothered him was that he had to work that night, so he couldn't chase Denise down and offer to buy her a drink, maybe get to know her a little. Maybe show her he wasn't just some dumb hick 'riding a tricycle' or 'wearing a funny hat'. Much less a bum that couldn't afford to take her out somewhere.

He did own a truck for fuck's sake, and he had a paying job at Davenport's. Nice little chunk of change in his wallet too. He stood with his hands in his pockets, staring at the front entrance she'd passed through, thinking about what he would've said to her, before Liz got his attention and he was reminded he had to get back to work. He supposed he shouldn't worry about some pretty little Collie, much less what she thought of him, when by the end of the night Billy was sure to make good on his word at some point and hook him up with one of the Hunnies. But she was pretty. More so than even Roxanne's daughter, in Brick's opinion.

She also seemed genuinely grateful he'd come to her rescue, and the way she smiled at him made him think she might like him too. But with great effort, though some bit of reluctance, he shoved that thought aside and got back to work, Liz picking on him the whole rest of the night, swearing up and down he was blushing. The damnable woman was far too interested in other people's love lives, if one were to ask Brick. He would make a smart remark about Nyxon obviously needing to step up his game in the sex department, but he'd been told Liz's slaps to the face felt like getting stuck by a cattlebrand, and he'd rather not find out if that rumor was true.


	28. Chapter 28

When Roxanne got home that night, Tessa was in bed, but Snake had waited up for her. She came in carting an arm full of groceries and other odds and ends. She desperately wished to unload them in the kitchen, but walked over to the recliner first to peck Snake on the cheek with a kiss. "I am so sorry," she apologized as she stood up. "Had to stop and see a few clients, then take care of some things in town," she explained as to the lateness of her arrival. Snake just nodded, as if he expected as much, despite the fact that she hadn't called, or even text him. To be honest, she simply forgot to. She just wasn't used to having a man to answer to.

But she supposed Snake wasn't used to having a woman to wait for either, because he just shrugged and said, "Ya do whatever ya gotta do, baby," as if he could care less what she did. Was it terrible that she wanted him to care? If she was going to make the effort to stay faithful to him, maybe have a real relationship with the man, shouldn't he bother to give a rat's ass what she did with her time? In afterthought she remembered that in all likelihood he would continue to not really give a damn until she was wearing a jacket with his name on the back meaning she was his P.O. but still...what was the point in having a boyfriend if he behaved like every one of her clients?

She just smiled at him though and carted the plastic bags to the kitchen to put away anything that needed to be refrigerated immediately. She'd leave the rest for Tessa to deal with in the morning. She shuffled up the stairs, pulling her hair down as she went and untangling it before she entered the bathroom to run water for a shower. Took the water in the bathroom forever to heat up since the pipe that connected the tub to the electric hot water tank was longer than the pipe that led to the kitchen sink. So she sat on the edge of the ceramic tub with her hand under the faucet for about five to ten minutes before even bothering to undress.

Once the water was hot, she took her time undressing too, in her mind still replaying events of that day. Dealing with clients like Bobby, who weren't all too thrilled about her sudden career change. The ones she knew would give her hassle she made sure to converse with over the phone instead of seeing in person. None of them were happy, but that just meant she'd gotten too damned good at her job, and some of them were just too highly dependant on her. She was their only means of getting laid. She wasn't threatened by any of them, but she did have to cuss out Eddie Hancock, when he decided to make smart remarks about it.

But the deed was done. The only ones left to deal with were the regulars that stopped by the Cornerstone, like Randy Stottlemyer. She didn't have his cellphone number, but even if she did, she was not about to call his phone to break things off between them and risk Leanne answering and asking questions. Like why the biggest slut in town was calling her husband's phone in the first place. She would not dare ruin the marriege of that sweetheart of a man. She'd wait until the next time she saw him at the Cornerstone, then break it to him easy. She wasn't looking forward to it.

But as she stepped under the hot water and started showering, leaning her head back to soak her hair before shampooing it, she heard footsteps, then the door opened. Snake was entering the bathroom, and was just on the other side of the translucent curtain, closing the door and leaning against it, watching her. She could see his outline, and was quite certain he could see hers. He hummed quietly like he liked what little he could see. "Mm, that's a damned fine woman behind that curtain," he said, and she chuckled, lathering her hair. "I'm thinkin' about joinin' her." She tried to ignore the way that made her stomach flip.

When was the last time a man had joined her in the shower? She couldn't even remember. But she wasn't completely clean just yet, and she just didn't feel right about having Snake in there with her still smelling of other men. It wouldn't bother her otherwise, but this was no ordinary man standing on the other side of that thin plactic shower curtain. This was Calvin "Snake Eyes" Jameson, the President of the Pagan Outlaws motorcycle club. One of the most notorious men in the entire goddamned state, and one of the most dangerous she'd ever taken to bed. There was something about that concept that made a chill race up her spine, both in excitement and fear.

"Well ya could, but ya might not like it once I start shavin'," she told him. "It ain't all that sexy."

He chuckled lightly. "I beg to differ, baby," he said. "I've seen a woman shave her legs. I happen ta think it's quite attractive. Ya want some assistance with that task? I'd be happy to oblige."

She let out an indignant snort at that, to cover up the slight discomfort at the thought of any man coming at her body with a sharp object, then replied with, "I weren't talkin' about my legs, Snake Eyes."

He laughed. "Oh hell I think shavin' any part of you might still be sexy."

"You are ridiculous," she laughed, bending a little to rinse her hair of shampoo, then once it was free of soapy lather, she snatched up her bottle of conditioner. She was getting low on beauty products. She'd have to head out for more soon. Considering her line of work, she had always been obsessive over her appearance, always making sure to take good care of herself and put in an effort to look good. She wondered if she'd have to make any changes to her routine, if the only man she was worried about looking good for was Snake Eyes. She wondered if he would even care so much about it. He'd seen her without make-up on, or her hair styled, and still fucked her brains out. 

"I took Tessa to meet Dani and her little girls today," he commented as she smoothed conditioner through her hair, interrupting her thoughts, and she paused.

She remembered Dani Stevens. Knoxville's old lady, if she recalled correctly. Dani had been one of the few women at Prunty's that never picked a fight with her, matter of fact, she'd never spoken one word to Roxanne, but she didn't like her any more than she did the next Lady. But mostly because she didn't like the man she married. Knoxville had been one of the worst among the men, and though she could hardly care what Tessa did in her spare time, long as she did whatever Roxanne asked of her, she shuddered to think of her daughter hanging around that low life piece of shit that dared to call himself a man.

With a scowl, she slowly asked, "You took my daughter around that man of hers?" And judging by Snake's sigh he knew what man she spoke of.

"She uh, she aint livin' with Knoxville no more," he enlightened, and Roxanne sputtered in surprise. "Got tired o' the way he was treatin' her, so I gave her to Remi. He treats her good. Her daughters too. Knoxville gets an hour with them every Saturday, but by all other rights, they're Remi's children now."

Roxanne mulled that over for a second, processing everything she just heard. Remi was a decent sort. He was just has loyal to Captain as the next man had been, but he didn't take advantage of what privileges they had near as much as some. He never had an old lady either. If he ever had a steady girlfriend, she was never one of their women, and he never brought her to Prunty's either. The one time she'd slept with him he'd been surprisingly gentlemanly. Quite generous too. A few months before she'd been kicked out of the Pagans' bar, he'd dropped five hundred dollars in her lap and asked for a good time. 

When she took him back to the VIP room and asked what he wanted, all he said was, "Whatever you'll give me for five hundred dollars. Whatever you think it's worth." He even split an eight ball of cocaine with her that night, because he didn't have any dope on him. Was pretty good in the sack too. All in all it was a pretty stellar night, and she hadn't a doubt in her mind that Dani was now reaping the benefit of that massive cock of his with a winning smile. Roxanne couldn't help but shut the water off after being stunned by Snake's admittance, even though she wasn't finished washing yet. She peeled back the curtain and stared. 

"Ya weren't lyin', were ya? Things really have changed, haven't they."

Snake said nothing, but just turned up the corner of his mouth in a smirk and nodded.

Roxanne blinked a few times, stumbling over what to say before closing the curtain and turning the water back on, to finish showering. She had thought Snake would continue talking, maybe elaborate on the topic of Tessa meeting some of his associates and their families, but he didn't. Just quietly slipped out of the bathroom and softly closed the door. She faintly heard him milling about her bedroom, so she quickly washed, and once finished, she rushed to pat herself dry with her towel, then washed her face and brushed her teeth. Snake never did anything without purpose, so she knew there had to be a reason he told her what he did today.

When she ventured into the bedroom, she expected Snake to be sitting on the edge of the bed near the nightstand, with a tray pulled from the drawer sitting on top and a ready needle, but she didn't. Instead he was laying in bed with one arm up over his head, smoking a cigarette, but stamping it out when she approached. Some of her excitement died when she didn't see any dope laying out. Either he didn't have anymore until his next supply run, or he expected sex first, before he'd give her more. That was a little unsettling to think about. Snake seemed to like it rough, and while she usually liked it too, she was sober at the moment, and wasn't sure if she could handle it.

Being fucked to oblivion while stone cold sober sometimes brought back memories she didn't want to be reminded of, and would much rather forget. But she dropped her bath towel and straddled him anyway, running her hands up his bare chest, then bent down to kiss him, relishing in the way his hands slid over her body in turn. She pecked him a few times on the mouth, expecting him to maybe flip her over and go to town, but he didn't this time. Just smiled up at her and let out a happy sigh. When she pulled away, he asked, "So what's the goin' rate for a back massage, baby doll?" She snorted in disbelief at that.

"Ya wanna back massage?" she laughed. "Baby, the only kind of massages I give are the kind with happy endings, if ya know whatta mean."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I mean to allow me ta give you one," he corrected, and now she was even more surprised. 

"Ya wanna give me a back massage?" she asked, wrinkling her face in confusion. He nodded. "Just a back massage? But I mean I thought ya wanted..."

He rolled his eyes and said, "Just lay down, ya silly woman." He scooted out from underneath her and gently pushed her down. She ended up sprawled across the bed on her stomach with Snake above her, and let out a groan when he started at her lower back and slowly worked his way up her spine with his talented hands. This was a little unorthodox. Typically members expected the women to be catering to the men in this fashion, not the other way around. Of course, Snake had always been a rather unorthodox man, in Roxanne's eyes. He'd done many unexpected things. But she never pegged him to be somewhat of a romantic.

He worked the kinks out of her spine with gentle hands for a time, and her imagination ran wild at the possibilities of what else those hands could accomplish, then she sighed when he bent to kiss a trail down her back. It made her giggle, thinking that while he planned to start with just a massage, maybe he didn't want to finish the night with one after all. Maybe he wanted more. Eventually he settled down on top of her, wrapping his arms around her, then kissing and biting her neck. He wasn't too rough, meaning he wanted to take his time tonight, maybe even show her just how good she could have it compared to any other man.

He did seem to fixate on outperforming any of her former flings, and he didn't fail to do so now either. Not with the way he seemed to know where all the most sensitive spots on her shoulder and neck were, pushing her hair out of the way so he could run his tongue and mouth over the exposed skin between her shoulder blades, making her arch into the touch, then reach back behind her to card her fingers through his shaggy hair. As he touched, he languidly rutted against her, pressing that bulging erection in his boxers right against the cleft in her ass, and she couldn't help but raise her hips with every thrust. 

Despite her rigorous social activities that day, Roxanne hadn't gotten off once, and was more than hoping she would tonight. Finally, after some nice long and slow, almost lazy, bits of foreplay, Snake wrestled out of his boxers and lined himself up with her entrance. She accommodated and spread her legs just a little, partially wet, but not as much as she would like to be. It was difficult for her to get aroused at times, and now was one of those times, but she wasn't worried just because she wasn't sopping wet and dripping on the sheets. She knew once he started fucking her with that thick hard cock at just the right angle, he'd hit her g spot.

He pushed himself in with one steady thrust and filled her up completely, making her moan at the feel of him. He moved slower than she expected, but still gripped her tightly around the waist and nipped her shoulder with his teeth. The breathless sounds he made right in her ear as he fucked her made her tremble, starting to feel that increase in arousal as soon as she heard them. She spread her legs even wider for him, so he could hit her deeper, and rocked her hips, almost pulling him into her as he kept up his slow even pace. She was fine at that point, enjoying the feel of him around her, inside of her, and right up close to her ear.

Until he wrapped his hand around her neck.

She froze in sudden fear and nervousness at the feel of it, flashing back to the last man that had his hands around her neck like this, and panicked, heart racing in her chest. Snake didn't strangle her like he had. Barely even gripped her at all, just rested his hand possessively over her throat, but it didn't matter. It reminded her of it, still made her sick to the stomach to even think about, so she squirmed away from him, reaching up pry her hand from his neck. "D-don't do that, please," she stammered, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to steady her breathing. Snake paused, pulled his hand away and wrapped it back around her midriff instead.

"I'm sorry, baby," he murmured. "Thought ya liked it."

He sounded hurt, and slightly confused, and in her panicked state she assumed the worst, that he would get angry with her and rear back to hit her, so she scrambled for words.

"I-I do, baby, I do," she rushed to say, petting his bicep affectionately like a cat. "I just don't want it right now is all. Just...just not right now."

Maybe he could hear the panic in her voice, because he lifted his head for a moment and presumably looked down at her. She couldn't see it, facing away from him, but she could feel his eyes boring into her. Her bottom lip trembled, expecting some kind of retaliation because she refused him. But all he did was whisper, "Whatever ya want, baby," Then he started over, inclining his head to kiss her neck and shoulder, tracing her sides with his fingers, before he slowly started fucking her again. After a time the panic started to recede, but she couldn't find it in her to be turned on anymore. Not when she thought back on what had happened to make her feel this way.

She pleaded softly, "Come for me, baby," Encouraging him to pick up the pace until he came inside her, spilling every last drop of cum, then rested on top of her, kissing her hair.

Neither said a word for a moment, both silent and contemplative in the afterglow, as he slowly went soft and inevitably pulled out of her. 

But then finally Snake mumbled, "Let's go for a bike ride, baby doll."

"Right now?"

He chuckled. "Tomorrow," he said.

"Where to?"

"Wherever ya wanna go."

She snickered a little. A lazy country ride on a Harley with Snake Eyes? On a warm summer day with the sunshine in her face and the wind in her hair? Sounded pretty good actually. "Alright then," she agreed, and was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek. Lord Almighty, she didn't know what to do with this man. First he offers to take care of her and her daughter, help pay her bills so she can quit seeing clients, then he does things like give her back massages and offer bike rides just for the hell of it? Where was this man twenty years ago when she was all alone and raising a baby with no help whatsoever except from her godforsaken parents?

"What am I gonna do with you, Snake Eyes?" she sighed.

"Keep my ass around hopefully?" he chuckled and so did she.

If she wasn't careful, she might just start to like this man.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a heads up to everyone, even though she will be a reoccuring character in this fic, not now nor will I ever be giving Candice a Faceclaim, so feel free to use your imagination. Tessa's shitty relationship with her mother aside, I refuse to body shame any woman, and some pretty horrible things are said about Candice throughout this fic. I think all women are beautiful in their own right, so I won't be picking some random woman from the internet and labeling her as ugly. 
> 
> (Just between you and me though, I picture my husband's witch of an ex wife as Candice, but that's neither here nor there)

Billy The Kid woke to find himself sprawled across one of the velvet upholstered couches in the VIP room of Prunty's, with a foreign arm stretched across him. He had no idea who's hand it was that rested on his chest, but what surprised him more was that he was fully clothed still. He'd gotten too drunk the night before to hop on his bike without wrecking it in a ditch, so he'd passed out in the back room instead. He glanced over at the sleeping woman snoring and grimaced. He didn't know her name, had never seen her before that night, but was quite certain she looked a whole helluva lot better with beer goggles on. 

Right now she looked to be a mess, make-up smeared, with a bit of drool sliding down her cheek, and suddenly Billy understood what red foxes must feel like when their leg got caught in a poacher's trap. He'd rather chew off his right arm to escape this woman than risk waking her up. He squeezed his eyes shut and cradled his pounding head for a moment, wondering where Brick was at. He distinctly remembered introducing him to someone towards the end of the night, and presumably they went back to her place in her little trailblazer, so the night had ended on a rather pleasant note for the boy.

Billy, on the other hand, was in for an even worse nightmare than even waking up next to some coyote ugly on his arm. Just a little too late he heard the door to the VIP room swing open, letting in the harsh early morning sunlight from the front windows. Belatedly he realized that what woke him up was the sound of the front door being unlocked and someone who had keys to Prunty's letting themselves in. Had to be one of the Ladies, but he didn't consider that Liz would give Candice a copy of her key, nor did he expect her to be on the schedule to open that morning. Not until she opened the door to the VIP room.

The sharp sound woke the woman sleeping beside him, and she bolted upright with a snort, hair sticking up in places. Billy recoiled at the sunlight that blasted him in the face and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them, he saw Candice standing over him, glaring heatedly, clutching her key to Prunty's still. Looking like an angry old lady who caught her man in bed with another woman. The nameless floozy he'd woken up with must have assumed that's who Candice was, because she scrambled to her feet, saying, "This ain't what it looks like." Sounded to Billy like waking up with a married man was old hat for her, and happened quite often.

Billy, who owed Candice no explanation whatsoever, just stretched in his spot on the couch and grumbled, "Mornin'." But he could tell this was going to be an argument regardless. "Liz finally gave ya key, huh?" He pointed to it, knowing full well what that meant, and knew that pretty soon she'd start wearing an article of clothing with her name sewn into the back of it, that way the men could tell the Ladies apart from the riff raff that came in, no matter how drunk they were. Just as soon as the Ladies finished making it for her. Candice folded her arms over her busty chest and sneered at him.

"Who the fuck is she?!" Candice snapped and he rolled his eyes.

Maybe he never should've tried to be considerate of her feelings, or maybe just nipped things in the bud a long time ago and just came out and said she never had a chance at being his old lady, because then maybe she wouldn't take such a tone with him right now, thinking she had any kind of right to, just because Liz gave her a key. But before he could reprimand her for raising her voice like that at him, the other woman piped up with, "So this is your old lady, I'm guessin'?" She chuckled, smoothing her hair down with her hand. "Hell it's no wonder you're fuckin' around on her."

Billy shook his head and said, "No, she ain't my ol' lady. This is Candice. Candice, this is..." Fuck, he didn't even remember her name. "Whoever this is," he drawled, reaching in his breastpocket for his pack of smokes, slightly crushed now because of the way he was slouched. He sat forward on the couch and lit up the least wrinkly looking cigarette as Candice huffed at him.

"I should be his old lady," she said. "I put in the time! I did the work! An' I took good fuckin' care o' you!"

Billy looked her over. "Well I don't see my name on your jacket," he said. 

"It outta be!" she snapped. "I have done everything for you! I even lied for ya, when the cops wanted ta put your ass in jail back when I was still underage! An' I've waited hand and fuckin' foot on you for fuckin' months!" She started counting everything with her manicured fingers. "Always respected you, never talk down to ya, let ya come an' go as you please, never asked you for nothin' in return, and I proved myself to tha other men and their women too! I'm fuckin' one of 'em now! And this is what I get for my fuckin' trouble?!"

Billy was so close to rising to his feet and backhanding Candice for screeching at him the way she did, but he thought better of that notion. She put up with anything and everything she had to in order to earn her place, and he really couldn't fault her for trying. But he was just about to comment when the other woman cut in again, saying, "Well maybe he don't want your ass 'cause you're just too fuckin' ugly?" Candice turned and simmered at her, clenching both fists in anger. Alright now it was getting interesting, and Billy could practically hear the claws coming out as they eyed each other, so he leaned back in his seat to watch the cat fight about to break out between them.

All that was missing was a bag of popcorn for the show.

Candice edged closer and ran her mouth first with, "Oh so you think you're any better than me? Ya buck tooth whore? You think he gives a fuck about you? He can't even remember your name! You don't mean shit to him, baby girl, so you better get over yourself right fuckin' now."

"Well obviously you don't mean shit ta him either," she said. "Cause I don't see a patch on your jacket sayin' you're his property, so wontchya get the fuck outta my face, ya smart mouthed bitch!"

"Oh so you think you're really somethin' huh? Watch how fast I fuckin' pop you in the mouth, ya keep runnin' it like that."

The women he woke up with just smiled at her, like she didn't think Candice would really do it, but to be honest, Billy didn't know if she really would beat the brakes off her or not. He'd never seen her fight before. Didn't even know if she could. He folded his arms and puffed on his cigarette, as the other woman was saying, "How in the hell's he supposed ta get a fat fuckin' cow like you on the back of his bike anyway? Huh? What's he do? Get a forklift? Cause he'll need it to get your fat ass on the saddle!" She flipped her hair over one shoulder and grinned smugly. "If I don't mean shit ta him, then how's come he promised he'd take me for a ride on his bike last night?"

Up to this point, Billy had no intention of intervening, but he remembered that bit from last night and said, "Hey now I promised you a bike ride if you'd give me a blowjob." He looked down at himself. "Now I didn't wake up with my pants down around my ankles."

She scowled and said, "That's 'cause ya passed out before I could get around to doin' it."

He just shrugged and nodded. Sounded fair in his eyes. But Candice was having a fit over this woman giving him a blow job, when in her eyes he should be coming to her for that kind of thing. Now, she was so pissed she started shaking and tearing up too. Maybe she could understand if it were another one of the Hunnies he'd woken up with, because she knew they were just trying to prove themselves to the men same as she was, and if they wanted to keep their privileges, they were expected to put out if a member asked, but at a guess, what offended her the most was how he'd cozied up to some stranger, when he could be having one of them.

"So what then, I ain't good enough for you no more?" she asked him, her voice shaky and uneven. "Baby I would lie for you. Take a bullet for ya too, an' ya wanna fuck around on me with some random fuckin' bitch that don't even give a fuck about you?"

"Well it seems evident to me he don't give a fuck about you either."

As the standoff between the two women started back up again, Billy's cellphone started ringing in his pocket. "Hold on," he said as he pulled it out if his pocket, but when they continued to fire insults at each other, he raised his voice to a shout. "I said shut the fuck up!" he barked, and both women quieted. He glared in warning at the both before raising his phone to his face and getting a look at the number. Not one of his contacts. He didn't know who the hell was calling his number, but he answered it anyway, and as soon as he heard that sweet, angelic little voice on the other end, the two women in his company could both jump off a cliff for all he cared.

"Hello?"

"Hey Billy, it's Tessa." 

His day was made when he heard that shy tone of voice on the other end of the line, and despite his foul mood he broke into a grin as soon as he heard it. "Hey, baby girl," he greeted, and Candice's eyes flew wide open in broiling anger, but he held up a finger before she could open her mouth to speak. "How's it goin'?"

"N-not bad," Tessa stammered nervously. "Snake, uh, h-he gave me your number. I was just wonderin', cause I know how ya said you'd give me a ride any time I needed it an' all I had to do was ask, and they're not here right now? They left to go on a bike ride a little while ago, so I was just wonderin if ya wouldn't mind givin' me a ride to my friend's house?"

"Why cantchya just take your momma's car?" he asked.

"I ain't got my license. I can give ya gas money if ya need me too." 

"Oh dontchya worry about that, baby," he assured her, rising to his feet and shuffling over to the nearest table to stamp his cigarette out in the ashtray, then checked his pockets to make sure he had everything, reaching in his right pants pocket for his bike key. "Dontchya worry bout a thing. I gotcha covered. Just give me about forty five minutes. I'm out here at Prunty's right now, so it's gonna take me a little while ta get there, but I'll be leavin' shortly, alright? You just sit tight an' I'll come getchya."

"Alright. Thank you."

"Any time, baby. I'll see ya in a bit."

"See ya."

"Buh-bye now."

"Bye."

He hung up the phone feeling pretty light on his feet despite how hungover he was, but turned to see two women staring at him still. He damned near forgot they were in the room. The nameless woman just looked curious, but Candice looked like she was about to bite his head off. "Who was that?" she questioned, brow raised, expectant of an answer. He rolled his eyes. "Who was that, Billy?!" she repeated, and now he was angry. She had no right whatsoever to question what he did, much less was it any of her business who he was just talking to. "I swear to fuckin' God, Billy, if I find that bitch-"

"Don't you dare take that tone with me, woman!" he warned, murderous look in his eyes and her mouth clamped shut. "Now I don't owe you a goddamned thing, Candice, so you better get that through your head right now. You ain't my ol' lady, and I sure as he'll ain't your fuckin' property! Now ya take that kinda tone with me again? You might as well hand me them keys and get the fuck outta this bar right the fuck now, and don't come back." He stepped closer and loomed over her, having had just enough of her possessive bullshit for one lifetime. "I ain't gonna stand here an' listen no lecture from some cock suckin' little whore that can't keep her legs closed, wantin' ta act like she owns me."

"Ya know how many times I had to throw some redneck outta your apartment every time I come over? An' you wanna act like you're entitled to shit. You can kiss my fuckin' ass."

He wanted to leave at that, when Candice spoke, saying, "I ain't doin' that shit no more, Billy. I'm only tryna be with you. I'm a Lady now. I'm members only."

"Yeah yeah I know, Brick told me yesterday," he huffed. "You think that's supposed ta make you special somehow? That don't mean shit to me. Far as I'm concerned, you ain't ever gonna be my ol' lady, Candice. All you were to me was an easy fuck, 'cause that's all you're good for. Now you gotta problem with that? You can take it up with the Prez." He turned an glanced at the other woman listening, looking like she found the whole conversation pretty damn amusing. "But as far as she's concerned?" he said, gesturing to her. "Hell, she don't mean shit to me either, so you go on an' you knock yourself out with that one, darlin'." 

He headed to the door, adding, "You ladies have fun," Then walked across the bar without a backwards glance in their direction. He caught a snippet of the two of them raising their voices again, but didn't quite catch what was said, much less if it was aimed at each other or him. But he could care less. While he wouldn't mind sticking around to see the outcome of that fight, he had better things to concern himself with. Namely, the sexy little doll baby he was on his way to pick up. If he had his pick between all three women, it was the easiest decision he'd ever make in his life. 

His blood started pumping as he started up his bike, just thinking about that hot little body of hers, and those thighs spread on either side of him as she straddled his bike...then maybe straddled him too. It was too much to hope that she was just looking for an excuse to go on a bike ride with him. But a man could dream, could he not? Hell he'd take Tessa fully clothed over a hundred naked women. If there was any one woman he'd give his right lung to have sitting on the back of his bike wearing a denim jacket with her name on the back, and right below that, a patch saying, 'P.O. The Kid', it was that sweet baby girl Tessa Middleton. A woman like her was what any man needed.

Billy chuckled at himself when he thought about how obsessed he was already.

If this was how Snake Eyes felt whenever he thought about Roxanne, it was no wonder he tripped over himself rushing to get his hands on the woman.

Because Billy certainly couldn't wait to get his hands on her pretty little daughter.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I found a picture on Instagram of William Tyler (Billy's faceclaim) sitting on a parked Indian, and this was _after_ I decided to make Billy The Kid's motorcycle an Indian Chief. Trippy. O.o

When Billy pulled up in front of Roxanne's house, Tessa was coming out the door, as she'd heard the bike come barreling up the gravel driveway, kicking up dust. She was already dressed and ready to head out, making him sweat getting a look at those nice curves filling out those skin tight jeans, with a pair of leather boots, and that tight little t-shirt. Oh and it was pink too. Light pink, somehow making her look even younger than she already was, which was entirely too much of a turn on for a pervert like him, and if he was a dog, his tongue would be hanging out. "Goddamn, baby girl," he cursed as she was descending the steps to the front porch.

He could swear he saw her rolling her eyes a little, meaning she hadn't dressed like that for his sake, but just because it was hot outside.

Not that he was complaining either way of course. "Why ya gotta tease me like that," he said as she neared the bike and set down her purse just long enough to put her helmet on. She had just a hint of a smile on her pretty pink lips, like she simply thought he was ridiculous, more than actually being disgusted by him. "Ya know ya dress like that an' it gets a man thinkin' all kinds of things." He watched her pick up her purse, sling it over her shoulder, then as easily as any woman who'd spent more time on the back of a bike than actually on her back, she put her foot on the peg and hauled herself onto the back seat.

"Well as long as you're keepin' those kinds of thoughts to yourself," she said over the rumble of the bike as it idled. 

"No ma'am I ain't," he said, chuckling, because he'd made no guarantee he'd do such a thing. "I'll just tell ya. Dressin' like that and lookin' as young as you do is makin' me wanna bend you over my knee in this saddle and spank the pants off ya, hear ya beg me, 'Oh please, daddy, do it again'." 

He didn't know if it was just what he said, or how he said it, but behind him Tessa covered her mouth when she let out a tiny snort, looking partially amused, but all shades of embarrassed.

"Alright that's one I ain't ever heard before," he heard her say. 

He chuckled at her, then let off the clutch a little and gave it some gas just to make the bike skip forward and Tessa yelp, wrapping her arms tightly around him in surprise. Then he erupted in a much louder laugh at the offended face she made for a split second. But she was also smiling and shaking her head in disbelief at him, not looking quite so much like she wanted to strangle him. Or even hop right off the motorcycle and retreat back inside her mother's house. Just maybe cuff his shoulder. He half expected her to. But she didn't. 

Biting the corner of his lip, he reached to put his hand on hers where it rested over his gun to slide it further down, to his abdomen instead. "Careful where ya put that hand, baby girl. Don't want any of your fingers gettin' blown off by accident." Mentioning his pistol effectively killed all humor in the woman, making her frown and look away, even start to remove her hand entirely, and Billy was quite certain he'd figured it out just then, just what it was about him that she didn't like. 

Hell, most of the women he was usually surrounded by were the opposite, and were always asking if he'd ever let them fire his pistol, which he didn't allow under any circumstances, and they'd stick out their bottom lip in a pout.

But Tessa looked like she might get sick just by having it being mentioned.

He didn't like seeing that look on this woman's face.

Finding he would much rather prefer she be disgusted with him than just plain scared to death of him, he squeezed her hand and smiled at her before sliding her hand down even further, saying, "But I gotta pistol right here you can hold onto." Which was more likely to go off in her hands if she wasn't careful. As her hand neared his crotch and she caught on to his meaning, she gasped and tore her it away, scowling at him in the side view mirror. But he just smiled softly at her, then he assured her, more seriously, "Trust me, that's the only gun I'm packin' you need concern yourself with, baby girl. Dontchya worry bout that other one." But whether or not she was convinced, he couldn't say.

He backed the bike into the yard to turn it around, then shifted into gear and they took off, Billy letting Tessa direct him to her friend's house some thirty minutes away. He'd fucking kill somebody if it turned out to be a _boy_ friend she was seeing. But they turned off the highway and onto a paved single lane drive, then rode the last five minutes on that stretch, the houses becoming fewer and fewer again as they neared the county line. Beyond their stretch of road was nothing but pine and underbrush for a few miles, throwing shade over their heads as the power company didn't trim the trees to keep them off the telephone lines in such a remote area. 

Hardly a reason to bother with no lines in sight. Wouldn't surprise Billy if people out here didn't even have land line telephones or cable. There was a cool breeze winding through the hills, rustling the branches overhead, and that, plus the sounds of the woods, and the rumble of Billy's Indian, was the only sound to be heard. There were no distant sounds of trucks on the highway, no other vehicles on the road, and no dogs barking either, but they passed a farmstead with some horses grazing. The house Tessa led him to didn't have any animals on the property, just a few junk cars covered in rust and full of holes next to a single stall garage, and it was a double wide trailer with a wrap around porch attached.

He would be skeptical of whether or not she really knew the people living there all that well, but considering their population was so small that there was only one high school for the entire county and everyone went to it, including him when he was a teen, it shouldn't surprise him. Could also be a friend she made working at the Exxon. But there didn't appear to be anybody home. "Baby girl," he said as he shut off his bike and planted his feet to keep them upright. "It don't look like anybody's here." She made a small huff, then carefully swung her leg over the seat to hop off, then make her way up to the porch to knock on the front door.

She waited a moment for someone to answer, but when no one did, she knocked again, shifting restlessly from foot to foot, running her fingers through her hair, then wringing her hands. She knocked a third time, sharply rapping her knuckles on the screen door. Then she let out a sigh. "Shit," she cursed, and Billy raised a brow, quite certain that was the first time he'd ever heard the girl say a cuss word. "She was supposed to be here all day," she commented as she moved away from the door and settled on the steps to wait for whoever it was, setting her purse beside her and folding her hands in her lap.

"Who was ya comin' to see?" he asked as he reached for his pack of smokes. 

"Erica Little," she answered. "She was a friend from school. I text her and asked her what she was gettin' into today, see if she wanted ta hang out, and she said 'yeah', but..." She pulled her phone from her purse and checked it for cell service as Billy was lighting a cigarette. "Damnit," she cursed again, dropping her hand. No cell towers in the area. Which meant no signal. Billy rubbed his brow, trying to shake off the odd feeling that settled over him whenever she cursed. "Must've went to the store or somethin'. She'll probably be back after awhile. Guess I'll just have to wait here for her."

"Well I'll wait with ya then," he said with an affirmative nod, flipping up the kick stand and climbing off his bike to stretch his legs and shoved one hand in his pocket, jingling his keys.

"Ya ain't gotta do that," she said to him. "I'll be alright. I'm sure ya got better things to do than sit around waitin' on my friend."

No, actually he didn't. Not today at least. No bikes to work on, and if someone wanted to schedule an appointment, they could just leave a message on his answering machine in the office. He'd get to it eventually. But he'd been dying to get this girl alone with him somehow. If his options were spend the day at the shop mentally blowing his brains out, spend the day at Prunty's around Candice wishing he could _actually_ blow his brains out, or hanging out with Tessa on the front porch of her friend's house stone cold sober with nothing but the cigarettes in his pack and time on his hands, he'd sooner pick that option than all the rest.

Hell, maybe they could make a day of it.

"Whatchya wantin' to hang out with some girl that's gonna blow ya off like that for, huh?" he asked, flicking the ashes from his cigarette. 

She shrugged. "Well I didn't really want to all that much," she admitted. "I mean Erica and I don't really talk a whole lot these days, not since we graduated, but...well, it beats sittin' at the house an' lookin' at the yard."

He looked around, thinking to himself that was pretty well what she was doing right now, only it was someone else's yard. He puffed on his cigarette a few more times, thinking, before it occured to him to ask, "Wanna go somewhere?"

"Go where?" she questioned.

He rubbed his chin, then said, "Anywhere. Wherever ya wanna go. Don't matter to me really. I was just thinkin' if you're just tryna get outta the house, then let me take out somewhere then. We can go anywhere ya like. Ya hungry? I could take ya to get somethin' to eat."

Tessa fidgeted at that for some reason. She delayed responding for a moment, like she didn't know what to say to him. "Look, I don't really..." She trailed off, and didn't finish that sentance. Just left it hanging in the air between them. She made eye contact for a second, but then looked away. 

"So what is it about me then?" he asked, and that got her to look up at him, confused by the question. "What is it about me that you find you don't like?"

"I-It ain't like that," she stumbled to say nervously, like she was desperate to keep from offending him. "You really do seem alright, Billy. It ain't like I don't like ya, when you've been so nice to me, it really ain't like that at all, I just don't wanna..." She waved her hand between them, gesturing to both of them like it might somehow translate to words. He got what she was meaning by it. She just didn't want to be involved with him. Not even just to fuck around. Wanted nothing to do with him whatsoever. That was the message she was trying to convey without coming right out and saying it in so many words. 

He snorted, then took another drag off his cigarette.

"You don't wanna," he surmised, mockingly. "You sure about that, baby girl? 'Cause the looks you've been givin' me sure do tell me otherwise." She ducked her chin, looking away from him. "So what is it? The vest I'm wearin'?...Or the pistol tucked inside it?" When he said that, he watched her eyes gravitate toward it, to the spot of denim beneath which his holster rested under his left arm, holding a 9mm semi-automatic. Her eyes bore into that spot like she could see right through the vest to what lay underneath it, confirming his suspicions. "What if I took it all off right now?" he then asked, making her blink and meet his gaze.

He'd told Brick he'd never get a woman like Tessa long as he was wearing that vest because he'd suspected it was Billy's club membership that made her skittish around him, and now he aimed to put that theory to the test. Hed never give up the life he had with his brothers just for some woman, but he was far too curious as to how she'd react, so right before her eyes he shrugged out of his vest, laying it across the seat of his bike, then put out his cigarette on the ground and slid the holster off next. He laid it over the vest, and now, just in his undershirt, jeans and boots, he stood before her, holding out both hands in expectancy.

"How 'bout now?" he asked her, and waited for her response. She stared for a moment, eyes passing over him before she picked at her nails.

Quietly she said, "I mean no offense when I say this, and I say it with all due respect, but...does takin' off that vest really change who you are?...Or what ya did ta get it in the first place?"

The slight curve of a smile never left his face when he said, "You tell me."

She looked down at her lap and said, "I read about you bein' arrested for things. An' you were even the suspect of a murder case, because the gun they used might've been a gun like that one you're carryin', and you was the last person to see that man alive."

Judging by the cautious way she spoke of it, he knew right that second that it wasn't that she thought she was better than him, or too good for the likes of Billy The Kid, a Pagan outlaw, but just that she was _terrified_ of men like him.

That's all it was. She wasn't like those clueless little hussies at the bar that thought bikers were 'cool', that wanted to spread their legs for a 'real man', or to simply jump on the back of a motorcycle and ride like the wind. That thought it was all fun and games until they were confronted with the truth somehow. It clicked in Billy's mind just then that Tessa wasn't stupid, and could somehow see him for what he really truly was, and he had no idea what Snake had said to her, or even what her mother told her about the club, but Billy realized that while Tessa seemed so innocent and nieve, she really wasn't.

She knew that wearing that patch meant more than just riding a motorcycle, and that his gun wasn't just for show, even if the cops couldn't prove he'd ever used it, much less pin the murder of Jordan Stackhouse on his ass.

She really didn't have her head buried in the sand like he initially thought of her.

He didn't like that she could see right through him like that, see into his soul like she did, but he forced a clueless smile. "Well hey now, that ain't fair," he said. "Ya know I was never charged of that, much less convicted. It was all just circumstantial evidence is what it was, baby girl. Any man coulda done it. There were a lotta people in this town that wanted his ass six feet under." She didn't say anything. Just kept her head bent. Because she knew he was right, but she clearly didn't believe he was innocent. She wasn't stupid. But for the first time in his life, being confronted with the truth of what he was through Tessa's eyes, he didn't feel vindicated, regardless of how justified his actions were. 

For some reason Tessa looking at him the way she did just made him feel like a heartless monster.

Like he was the devil himself.

He bit his lip and took a careful step toward her, then said, "Now I aint sayin' I'm a good man by any means, 'cause the devil knows I sure as hell ain't got no halo above my head...but I ain't the kinda man you think I am either, baby girl." He watched her inhale a slow breath through her nose, then let it out, before she looked up at him.

He would never know what she meant to say right then, however, as seconds later a car could be heard coming up the road, then slowing to a stop before pulling into the long stretch of a driveway. Her friend was here. Time for Billy to make himself scarce before he got himself in any kind of hot water. Before the car could be seen he reached to slide his holster strap over his shoulders, then put his vest back on, Tessa watching his every move as he redressed. "Ya gonna need a ride home later?" he asked as he straddled his bike. "Or can your friend take ya?"

"I can just ask Erica if she'll give me a lift," Tessa told him, to which he nodded. 

Without another word, he started his bike, flipping up the kickstand, then before the young woman driving the four door sedan could pull over and roll her window down, Billy maneuvered his bike around in the driveway and sped off, kicking up dust in his wake.


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: in this chapter I'm finally earning the dubious consent and sexual coercion tags. There is no violence or threats and while consent is given, it's not enthusiastic consent, and not clearly expressed as to whether or not Tessa feels threatened or that she can't say no.

Roxy was feigning.

It had been a solid two weeks now, of Snake living in her house, keeping her on a heroin binge, and whatever else he could do to keep her content, the occasional party thrown to move some product, or simply kick back and shoot up. Billy would show up every once in a while to hang around and maybe smoke some pot or drink some beer, most usually with Brick tagging along, and he was certain to be there when Tessa needed a ride to work, but most of the people passing through were dealers. Indirectly, the town's heroin supply was through the club, but Snake never sold to addicts directly. 

They were a hassle to deal with, so members would sell to an outside party that would deal to all the junkies in town, who'd then cut it down and deal to their friends. It kept ignorant dopeheads from knowing precisely where to point the finger should they get busted for slinging smack, provided their asssociates kept their mouths shut. By the time the cops came sniffing around, the money had already changed hands, the product was moved, and the profit was laundered through club sponsored businesses, or kept at their safehouse for emergencies. 

But places like the cash drawers at Prunty's, Cassidy's tattoo parlor, Billy's garage, and Remington's shop, were what the treasury mostly consisted of. Having organized events during the summer, like hosting live bands at Prunty's, poker runs, and other fundraisers, kept the question of where the Pagans were getting their cash from becoming public knowledge. Business was kept afloat, and ran just as smoothly as could be, without a hitch. Nobody poked around and asked questions, and those that knew the details never said a word about it either. On paper, they were legitimate business owners that paid their taxes, same as anyone else.

But two weeks had went by, and living at Roxanne's house, which was outside city limits, not subject to city ordinance, or in the city police's jurisdiction, meant it was surprisingly easy to get rid of the goods they had on hand, so when Knoxville and their handful of enforcers met with their suppliers that previous Saturday, every member supplying dealers in the area was out of dope faster than they could sell it, in part due to establishing Roxanne's as a front to move their product. At the moment, all Snake had left was his personal stash, that he'd shared with Roxanne.

What he'd given her was supposed to last until the next supply run, but she'd blown through it already. She was using too much and too fast for Snake to keep up with. It was a wonder she hadn't overdosed with as much as she depended on that needle, and with such little self control she had. Now, in order to get her more, he'd have to reach out to other members, and cut into club profit, which was precisely what he didn't like having to do. This was why he didn't like dealing with users directly unless they were a fellow member. Because when they were desperate, they were harder to manage, like Roxanne was at the moment.

Right now, Roxy was on the bedroom floor, on her hands and knees, literally begging for it.

He squeezed his eyes shut and flexed his jaw in irritation when he heard her beg, "Please baby, I just need a little more. Just a little. Just one hit. That's all baby. Please, I'll do anything. Whatever ya want baby, whatever ya need me to do. Please!" She was withdrawing badly too. Had all of the worst symptoms. She hadn't laid her hands on her daughter, at least not when Snake was around, but she'd been increasingly irritable around her, barking left and right, screaming at Tessa at the top of her lungs at one point. Tessa just took the abuse this time around, but she looked pointedly at Snake to blame. 

Snake blamed himself too. Because instead of slowly weaning her off the stuff, like he'd done to himself, he indulged Roxanne at every turn. Gave her whatever she wanted, however much she wanted, anything to keep her satisfied, and now she was craving it more and more often. Snake was regretting it at the moment, because she'd even offered to fuck the other club members if they'd get her dope, to which he fumed. "You aint fuckin' none of my friends, Roxanne!" he snapped angrily, making her flinch away from him and duck her head, crying, and he palmed his face. He didn't know what to do with this woman.

With only himself to find at fault, he sighed and ran his fingers through his hair as he stared down at her. 

Then Roxanne got an idea, so she looked up at him.

"What about Billy?"

"What about him?" Snake inquired, knowing full well Billy wouldn't fuck her anyway, even if Snake would allow it, which he wouldn't.

"Well I was just thinkin'...you've always been friends, you've looked out for each other, and you've helped that man out more times than he could count. Surely he owes ya one, right? Maybe he could give me some? And I'll pay him back on Friday when I get paid."

"Billy doesn't do that shit, baby," Snake told her. "He only sells it for me on occasion. He don't keep personal on him."

"Well maybe he knows somebody? He could get it somehow, and I'll owe him for it this time around. Please, Snake Eyes. Please do this for me baby. Please talk to Billy."

"Billy might owe me a favor or two, but you on the other hand, he ain't gonna do shit for."

"He would if you told him to. You're the Prez now, ain't ya? He'll do whatever you say."

Snake clenched his fists in anger. "Goddammit woman, I ain't Captain!" he roared at her, finally losing his temper, and she ducked her head again. "I don't use that kinda shit against my friends just so they'll fix up my junkie of a woman!"

There was a stretch of silence after that, and Snake though to apologize for raising his voice, but then Roxanne changed her tune, suddenly brazen, and fired back with, "Then get the fuck outta my house!" She seethed at him, shaking. "If your ass can't get me dope somehow, then what the hell am I keepin' you around for, huh? That's all a man like you is good for anyway! So get the fuck out! Right now, Snake! Get the hell out an' dontchya come back!" She started picking stuff up off the floor to throw at him, screaming at him to leave, and if it were any other woman, Snake might be tempted to do just that very thing. 

But instead he just sighed at her and left the room, closing the door, feeling something slam against it just after falling shut, something she'd aimed at him, a shoe maybe. He shook his head to himself, at the whole situation. He knew it was just the drugs and her need for them talking, that she didn't mean what she said about only keeping him around for dope, that it was all he was good for. It was just the anger and the withdrawal. Even if it was true from her perspective, he sure as hell wasn't leaving her. He'd gone through too much shit to have what he had now and walk away from it. 

If that woman only knew what he'd done for her, the evil he'd commited, all for the sake of her peace of mind, maybe she would be singing a different tune right now, but as it stood, Roxanne needed her fix, and Snake had to figure out a way to get it for her. He shuffled down the stairs, feeling his age at the moment, and the years catching up to him. Roxanne continued to scream and cry in her bedroom, probably thinking he'd done as she asked and left her. He flopped down on the recliner with a sigh and reached for his cigarettes on the end table beside it. Vaguely, he could hear Tessa in the kitchen, washing the dishes. 

Coffee was gurgling in the pot. Then it beeped and she padded across the linoleum. Snake stared blankly at the black tv screen.

"All I'm good for," he mumbled to himself, then lit up a smoke, taking a long drag. 

He tossed the lighter back on the table and rubbed his brow with his thumb. Already he'd paid their rent for the month, the past due electric bill so the company wouldn't come in and shut the power off, put a full tank's worth of gas in Roxy's car, bought her a carton of cigarettes, had Brick pick up an air conditioner in his truck and bring it out to the house, then install it, and the cable company came in, so now there was tv to watch. All because of Snake. Tessa no longer had to walk to work because he'd brought Billy around, and Roxanne didn't have to service customers anymore because Snake threw in the extra cash to keep them afloat. 

This was all because of him.

HIM.

Not to mention how he fucked her better than any man she'd ever been with.

"All I'm good for," he repeated, this time with slight resignation in his tone.

His jaw ticked a little as he thought of it, but he managed to hold in the worst of his rage, doubling the effort when Tessa quietly entered the living room, holding out a fresh cup of black coffee for Snake, and sitting on the couch holding a mug if her own, looking as black as his because they ran out of milk and cream that morning, so she only put suger in it, he assumed. She didn't say a word as upstairs Roxanne wailed in her bedroom. He was already devising a plan in his mind to slowly cut Roxy back from larger doses, maybe cutting it down with something if he couldn't wean her off dope entirely. He doubted he'd be able to.

He knew the real reason why she wanted it so badly.

It was the only thing that made her forget what happened to her.

But it was getting too expensive for Snake's liking, and getting to be more trouble than was worth the effort of keeping her happy.

He was mulling it around in his mind when Tessa spoke. She sipped on her coffee and asked, "Are you an' my momma breakin' up now?" Because she'd overheard part of the conversation, the last bits of it at least, Roxanne screaming at him to leave. Upstairs her wailing subsided to quiet sobs, presumably into her pillow now. He stared at Tessa. She was such a sweet child. Selfless too. Willing to sacrifice her own wants to live in this house and help take care of her mother. Never made a single complaint, and never said a word about things she shouldn't be knowing. She was good even to a fault sometimes, letting her mother walk all over her.

Roxanne didn't deserve her.

He was convinced it was just because Tessa had nothing better to with her time that she stayed, and nowhere else to go. But if she had a man to take care of, it might finally get her away from Roxanne. She was honest, and strong in her own right. Even if she didn't know it. So well mannered too. Never backtalked anyone, never had a harsh word to say about people. Kept her opinions to herself when a woman ought to, but she spoke her mind when asked. Clever, but just so infinitely sweet of a young woman. So pretty too. It was no wonder Billy was so desperate to have her, and tripped over himself to please her too. 

She'd make one hell of a Lady. She was a good woman, who deserved a good man. A man like his brother maybe. A woman like her would treat Billy right, stand by his side, and be loyal to the end. She certainly wouldn't treat him like Candice did, that was for damn sure. Wouldn't lie about spreading her legs for anyone that came along, wouldn't cheat, or put her hands on him either. When Snake thought about how good for the Vice President a girl like Tessa would be, he got an idea in his head of how to salvage this situation so that everyone got something out of the deal. Roxy could get her dope, and Billy could get a little somethin' too. 

He blinked several times when it clicked in his head of what to do, and he got so sidetracked by the thought he almost forgot what Tessa even asked him.

But then he remembered and shook his head. "No, I ain't leavin' your momma," he said. "She's just pissed right now 'cause she ran out of dope and I can't get her more." He flicked the ashes off his cigarette. "Think it's high time she quit that bad habit, huh?" Tessa said nothing to that, simply frowned and took another careful sip of her coffee. Snake popped the footrest down and leaned forward in his seat, scratched his forehead. "Let me ask you somethin' little girl," he said, and she looked over at him. He took another drag off his cigarette. "You like my brother?"

"Billy?" He nodded. She thought about it for a moment. "Well yeah he's alright. Why do you ask?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Because he likes you too." He pointed his finger at Tessa. "A girl like you would be good for him."

Plus, after the vicious way she spoke to him, the thought of pissing off Roxy made him feel pretty damn good right now, and this would surely take the cake.

She didn't like Billy, and liked the thought of him cozying up to her daughter even less.

"I-I ain't tryna get with him or nothin'," Tessa stammered. "It ain't like that between us."

"It oughtta be," he said pointedly. "Wontchya quit toyin' with the poor man's heart and cozy on up to him already?"

"I aint tryna be somebody's old lady," she said. "I ain't that kinda girl."

"Well I ain't suggestin' that," he said, though he did think she should be. "But I was thinkin' to myself how my brother could stand to have a good woman like you. A woman that'll treat him right for a change. Poor man's got the worst of luck when it comes to women. Seems to always attract the worst ones. He could use a girl like you for once." He puffed again on his cigarette, then put it out. "Tell ya what, why don't I invite him over, and when he gets here, the two of you can do a little talkin', hmm? Then maybe let him take ya on a bike ride. Maybe go back ta his place tonight. It'll getchya outta the house, and away from your momma too."

Tessa stared for a second or two, but then looked away, seeming uncomfortable just then. Like she didn't like any part of his suggestion at all. But finally she grew bold enough to say, "I may be ignorant, but I ain't dumb, Snake Eyes. You're wantin' me ta get friendly with him so he'll give my momma dope. You're wantin' ta pimp me out to your friend for drugs."

He frowned at how dispassionately she said that, then slowly leaned back in his seat.

He could lie to her, but thought better of it and simply sighed.

"Well I wouldn't word it quite like that, but it would work out in everybody's favor. Billy's been a good friend to me over the years. He's a good man, he'd take a bullet for me, and I'd say he deserves to get a little somethin' out of the arrangement. Because I ain't lettin' your momma spread her legs for no smack unless it's me she's puttin' out for, and I sure as hell ain't lettin' her go to nobody else for that shit either. She'll get it from Billy or she won't get it at all. So you do this one favor for me, little girl, and I'll make sure ya get somethin' out of it too. Whatever ya want, I'll see that Billy takes care of ya."

Tessa inhaled a shaky breath through her nose and shifted restlessly, looking like she maybe wanted to snap at him or get angry, but didn't want to disrespect him after all he'd done for both her and her mother. 

"It would piss your mother off too," he chuckled. "She never cared much for Billy. Maybe this'll teach her not to take that kind of attitude with me from now on."

"Or just make her decide to kick ya out," Tessa speculated. "I-I dont wanna make my momma angry with me, Snake."

"Dontchya worry, I won't let her take it out on ya."

She ran fingers through her hair. "Don't sound ta me like youre gettin' anything outta the deal," she said. He snorted.

"Oh I get plenty out of it. My brother is happy, and my girls are happy too. Roxanne's got her fix, and you've gotta good man that'll treat ya right." For some reason that only made Tessa more upset, like she didn't believe what she was hearing, and she started tearing up a little, so Snake leaned forward in his seat and laced both hands together. "You think I'm pullin' the wool over your eyes, little girl? I would never do that to ya. And Billy would never hurt you either. That man would do anythin' for ya. Hell, he'd give anything to have a good girl like you takin' care of him. He'd give his left nut just for a night with ya. He damn sure wouldn't mistreat ya, and if he did, you come to me about it, and I'll set him straight."

Tessa mulled it over, picking at her nails like she so often did, staring at her lap. Finally, after keeping Snake hanging there in wait for what felt like hours she said, "Alright."

Snake smiled. He snatched his cell phpne off the coffee table. "I'm gonna call him up, tell him I gotta surprise for him, and when he gets here, you just do what I tell ya to, alright?"

She dipped her chin in a nod. "A-Alright then."

"Good girl," he said with a smirk, and scrolled through his contacts searching for Billy's number.


	32. Chapter 32

Billy was still in bed when Snake called his phone. He wasn't asleep though, just kicked back in his boxers, leaning against the headbaord, hair falling around his shoulders while the radio played and he rolled a joint, and he thought about things. Brick had the day off that day, and with no bikes in the garage, he had nothing better to do and nothing but his own mind to keep him company. He thought about calling Nyx and Remi up to see if they were busy, would maybe want to take a ride somewhere and target practice, just shoot the breeze for a little while. He certainly wasn't going to Prunty's this early in the day just for something to do. 

Liz had Candice working the early shifts nearly every day now, where she'd only have to deal with maybe a handful of patrons throughout the day before nightshift took over. The last thing Billy wanted was to have that woman up his ass while he played pool. She might've been shaping up to be a good Lady, and wouldn't turn down other members, but she just couldn't let go of the idea of the two of them settling down together. He'd begged and pleaded with Snake to not even consider it, saying, "Please for the love of anything holy don't give that woman to me." To which Snake had laughed. 

"Oh hell," he'd said. "What's so bad about settling down with a woman like Candice, huh? You know that girl would walk on broken glass if ya asked her to."

"She'd walk on broken glass if anyone in the club asked her to," Billy had pointed out. "She's just tryna be the Vice President's Ol Lady. That's all she gives a damn about. If it weren't me wearin' this patch, it would be another man she's clingin' to. Hell, if she could, she'd probably try for your ass too." 

Snake just nodded at that. She didn't stand a chance in hell anyway. Snake wanted nothing to do with that whore. He only had eyes for Roxy. He didn't rightly care either way about it, would just assume let Billy do what he wanted, but just to emphasize his strong dislike of being attached to that nightmare of a woman, Billy had stomped his cigarette out on the ground and added, "I mean it, Snake, don't make me live with that girl. I'm beggin' ya. Hell I'll give ya my gun an' my cut right now, let you an' the boys take me out to the back lot and beat me til I'm black and blue, just don't let Candice anywhere near me."

Snake had errupted into a fit of laughter at that, and just shook his head at Billy. 

At present, Billy was thinking about that conversation again, and somehow it led to a thought of Tessa. That sweet little angel of a woman he wanted so badly, but just couldn't seem to get his hands on. It wasn't for lack of trying, but she just decided she didn't want a man like him, or the kind of life that came attached. He could hardly take offense to it. But he was thinking about that when his phone buzzed beside him on the bed, and he set down the joint he'd rolled and snatched it up to see Snake was calling him. He answered with, "What's goin' on, brother?" He pinched his phone between his right shoulder and his ear so he could light the joint.

"Not much," Snake said in his ear. "Listen I was wonderin' if ya might do me a favor."

"Alright."

"Ya got any H on ya?"

"Nah, I just got rid of the last bit I had to Corley yesterday. Why? Thought you said you was layin' off that shit for a while?"

"I am. But I need ta get some. Wonchya get ahold of Corley and see if he's got any left?"

"Ya got someone lookin' for it?"

"Yeah but they ain't got cash right now, so I'll have to owe ya."

Billy's eyes dimmed and he tilted his head back against the headboard, adjusting the phone next to his ear. "It ain't for Roxy, is it?"

"Well...you don't expect me to lie to ya, now do ya?" Snake asked, and Billy squeezed his eyes shut, quietly cursing. 

He was really getting sick and tired of Roxy using Snake's obsession with her to take advantage of things. For the past two weeks now he had to listen to that witch of a woman making smart assed comments left and right whenever he came over, talking trash about this and that, talking down to him too, and he couldn't very well put her in her place without pissing off his brother in the process, who just went right along with it anyway. Let her say and do whatever she wanted. "Her house, her rules," he'd said. But if Billy were in Snake's shoes, wouldn't matter who's house it was, he wouldn't tolerate a woman bad mouthing people like that.

If it were Billy, he'd have put his foot down by now. But Roxanne wasn't Snake's old lady either, he was just shacking up with her for the time being, so he couldn't rightly care what she did, long as she wasn't putting her hands on him. And now she was using Snake to mooch off the club and get free dope out of the deal. The woman had always been trouble, wanted to act like she was too good to be somebody's Lady, even though she was perfectly willing to take their money, their drugs, and put out for them just the same. Not to mention the trouble she got into with Captian. But that was a whole other story Billy would rather not think about.

"Look I'll be honest with ya," he told Snake on the phone. "I don't rightly care for Roxy moochin' off the club like she his. If you want my opinion I'll tell ya, the woman's bad news. Now you go on an' keep fuckin' around with her if ya want to, but I'm tellin' ya, it'll only get worse from here on out, and pretty soon it'll be Prunty's all over again." He heard Snake sigh at all that through the speaker. Wasn't like Billy had to worry about Snake knocking his teeth in or pulling a loaded gun on him and aiming it at his face just for giving his opinion, but Billy really hated insulting the man like this by verbally bashing his woman. 

It needed to be said though. Maybe it might finally make Snake come to his senses, if he heard from someone he knew and trusted to only have the best of intentions behind his words, and that Billy wasn't saying all that just to be an asshole. Roxanne Middleton was good for nothing but what she had between her legs, and really wasn't worth Snake's time. Billy added, "If it was you I was gettin' it for I'd say no problem. But I ain't doin' no favors for that woman. She can get it from me when she's got the cash on her. You just let me know when she's got the money and I'll stop by Corley's and then run it out to ya."

"She ain't gonna have no money til Friday."

"Then I'll bring it to her Friday."

"You know I'd never ask Billy, but just this one time I'm askin'. Just do me this one favor and I'll owe ya one. Matter of fact, I can pay ya back right now."

"Ya got money?"

"Got somethin' better."

Billy blinked a few times at that. He had weed in his lap already, and he'd never cared for smack, so what could Snake possibly have that he would want in return?

"Alright now ya have me curious. What is it?" he asked, expecting it to be coke or pills or something to trade, since Roxy didn't do any of that shit and neither did he, except Snake might smoke a little weed every now and then. Increasingly so, ever since he cut back on heroin. "An' it better be good," Billy added, though the threat was idle.

Snake chuckled on the other end. "Not 'it'. 'She'," he said. Billy could hear him take a puff off his cigarette through the phone. "There's a certain young lady here that's wantin' you ta come see her. So wontchya stop by the house and say hello."

"Wait, who's at Roxy's house?" he questioned, because it took a moment for his brain to catch on since he was partially stoned.

Snake just laughed again. "What, an' ruin the surprise? Just get your ass over here, before this little angel of a woman that is entirely too good for your sorry ass changes her mind."

Then it clicked. "Wait, Tessa?" He bolted upright in his bed, knocking off the tray he'd been using to break up his stash and crumbs flew everywhere. "Shit," he cursed as bent to pick up. Tessa wanted him to come over? "Thought she didn't want nothin' ta do with my ass," he said to Snake as he scrounged for the tray.

"Yeah, well, she and I got to talkin' about that, and I corrected a few assumptions she'd made about ya." Snake exhaled into the speaker and added, "So wonchya swing by an' cozy on up to her a little. You know you've wantin' to."

Billy chucked a little in disbelief. "You son of a gun," he quipped. Then he thought about it. "Alright I'll help ya out," he finally agreed. "But if Roxy ever comes at me lookin' ta score on some shit, I ain't doin' her no favors. She'll have ta pay her way like everybody else."

"Alright, alright, I get it, just get your ass over here."

"Will do," Billy nodded, and they hung up.

He tripped and fell backwards on the bed shrugging into his pants, and didn't bother to tie his hair back up. It would all come undone sooner or later when Tessa got her hands in it and ran her fingers through it. His blood was pumping just thinking about it as he threw on his cleanest muscle shirt and reached for his pistol on the dresser, then his vest thrown over the back of the couch in the living room. Despite the slight buzz he had, is mind was racing as he laced up his boots, then searched for his bike keys, patting down his pockets to make sure he didn't forget anything before he locked up the shop behind him.

He shot Corley a quick text as he was headed to his bike, saying he was coming over, then hopped on and drove across town. Corley was not one of his favorite dealers, was always asking Billy to front him something, promsing to pay him after he got it sold, always wanted to wheel and deal for a little extra on the side too. He was one of those homeboy types that liked to wear a flat billed cap and listen to rap music, which Billy really wouldn't give a fuck about, except that Corley wanted to act like he was some kind of thug, did things like called his shitty apartment his 'crib'. 

It annoyed the hell out of him. The boy had never even been locked up before, just liked acting like he was so tough just because he kept a gun under his mattress and just so happened to have access to heroin courtesy of the Pagans. The boy wasn't shit, in Billy's opinion. Probably never even fired that gun. Hell, he probably didn't even know how to use it and was liable to blow his own hand off if he tried. But he kept his mouth shut, and was careful who he did business with, and as long as he never mentioned Billy's name to the cops, he really had no problem with the likes of Corley Briggs. 

Wasn't really all that bad of a kid, just young and dumb, with a personality entirely too big for such a small, sleepy town.

But Billy was frowning when he walked up to his apartment door and banged on it, hearing hip-hip music blasting loudly from his stereo.

The rail thin blonde headed boy answered the door with no shirt on, but still had that stupid hat cockeyed on his head, like it was supposed to look cool, and tilted his chin in a nod. "What's goin' on man?" he asked Billy, then opened the door wider to let him in his apartment, shutting it behind him. Billy's frown deepened when he saw Corley had a friend sitting on the couch, and some girl too, and both were cutting out lines right there on the coffee table. Corley reached for the stereo remote and turned the music down to a more bearable level, making the guy on the couch complain. "Yo what the fuck man? Turn that shit back up!"

"Yo shut the fuck up!" Corley said to him, then turned to Billy. "Whatchyou need, bruh?"

Billy huffed at him. "Wontchya get the fuck outta here wit all that 'bruh' shit and start speakin' proper English," he groused, making Corley roll his eyes at him. He busted Corley's balls all the time for the way he talked, so the boy didn't really pay any kind of mind to it. Was pretty used to it by now. "Let's go talk in the kitchen," he said, and headed that way, Corley following. "How much ya got left o' that shit I sold ya last night?" he asked quietly once he'd pulled Corley to the side. 

"Got like half of it still," he shrugged. "Why?"

"Let me get it back," he said simply.

Corley lifted a brow. "What? Like...you mean all of it?"

"Yeah. All of it."

"Shit. Already got somebody that's comin' ta get it here in a few."

"Well tell 'em never mind. Ya ain't got it anymore. I got a buyer that's lookin' for it."

"Man I can't just give it back like that, I owe people money and shit, like...I _need_ that shit. If I don't get it to 'em, they ain't gon' be real happy with me, man." 

Billy snorted at him. "You know how many times I ain't been real happy with your ass? Had to hear some kinda excuse from you? Or float ya shit cause ya didn't have no cash? I've helped your ass out of a tight spot on more than one occasion, and I garantee you I've done you more favors than anyone in this town, so the way I see it, I reckon you owe me. Now, you're either gonna hand over what you have..." He pulled his vest out if the way of his holster and unsnapped the strap piece across the pistol tucked inside, making Corley visibly gulp. "Or I'll just take it from ya, and you and I will never do business again."

Corley only took a second or two to make the right decision here, nod his head, and say, "Yeah alright."

"Good man." 

He watched Corley walk back into the living room and trailed after him, folding his arms and waiting while Corley rounded the coffee table and started picking up the remainder of his stash from the table. His friend gaped up at him in confusion and asked, "Yo what the fuck are you doin'?" To which Corley said again, "Just shut the fuck up." He stuffed everything he had splayed out on the coffee table in a brown paper bag, started to walk away, but then turned back, bent to knock the straw out of the girl's hand before she could sniff up what was left on the tray, then started to scrape it up too. "What the fuck asshole!" the girl screeched, getting mad at Corley taking all the dope. 

"Shut your fuckin' mouth," he snapped, and continued scraping up the powder.

"Corley!" she fired back, and he backhanded her.

"Bitch I said shut the fuck up!" he barked and she kept her mouth shut, watching him with teary eyes as he took back what he'd given her and dumped it in a cellophane from a cigarette pack, took his lighter to it, melting the plastic and sealing it up tight. Then he threw it the brown paper bag along with the rest of it. He walked around the couch and held it out to Billy, saying, "There ya go." Billy snatched it out if his hand and nodded, saying, "Much obliged." He headed to the door with a smile on his face, turning back to look around before leaving.

"Pleasure doin' business with ya," he said. Corley nodded, but he did not look happy about his dope and his money leaving with Billy. Hell, it was all Billy's money anyway. Just on loan. When he got outside he stuffed the bag inside his leather saddle bag, whistling. He stopped to see Nyxon next, before heading to Roxanne's. He found him outside, with the garage door open, waxing his bike, looking like he might take Liz for a ride since she wasn't working today. He pulled into the driveway and parked next to her car, and when Nyx asked what called for an impromptu visit, he asked, "Got any coke on ya?"

Nyx plucked the cigarette out of his mouth. "Thought ya quit that shit."

Billy smirked. "Got myself a date tonight," he said to him, grinning from ear to ear. Nyx lifted a brow. He could pretty well guess what that meant. "Oh yeah," Billy nodded. "An' she's real pretty too."

And when he finally got his hands on Tessa, he didn't want it to be over quick, and coke always made him last for hours until he got off.

He planned on fucking the brains out of that beautiful baby girl 'til the sun came up over that horizon, gleaming yellow and gold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Would that count as orgasm delay/denial, or marathon sex, or both? Just curious.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long

Tessa was nervous about what she'd agreed to do. 

She'd agreed to sleep with Billy in exchange for him bringing her mother drugs. 

She felt like such a whore, like she was just one step away from becoming her mother, but she had to do it.

She didn't have a choice.

She needed the nightmare to be over.

For the last three days, Roxanne had done nothing but terrorize her daughter, and Tessa knew precisely why. Not because she'd done anything to deserve it, but because she was feigning for dope. It made her moody and irritable, snapping at everything Tessa said and did. At one point she'd slapped her hard across the face simply for asking a question. Just a question, that was all. She was quite certain she hadn't been rude to the woman, yet Roxanne screamed at her anyway. Then she slapped her. Tessa didn't say a word, but she was no longer repentant. She was quite certain she hadn't done anything wrong this time around. 

It was the drugs. That's what it was. Tessa briefly wondered if that was all it had ever been.

The years of abuse weren't Roxanne trying to raise her daughter right, they were...well, they were just abuse. Nothing more.

Tessa had just been brainwashed into thinking Roxanne's 'tough love' would teach her to be a better person somehow.

Her only reprieve from Roxanne's behavior was clocking in for work, but even so, she'd bite her nails down to the quick and dread the hour that Billy would pick her up on his motorcycle and take her back to her mother's house. She'd go stay with a friend to get away from her, but then she'd only be neglecting her housework, which would only make Roxanne more angry when she finally came through the door. She just wanted it all to be over. Just wanted her mother to be happy again. The heroin made her happy, smiling, and calm, and that was what she needed right now. So Tessa had no choice but to help her get it.

She could just imagine what would happen if she didn't go through with it.

Plus, what Snake said to her made a lot of sense, and if Tessa were being honest, Billy wasn't really all that terrible. She'd dealt with worse men. But without fail his bike was outside idling when it was time to go to work, and while he was certainly forthcoming with all his sleazy remarks, he never tried to take advantage of her, and he'd never hurt her either. Anytime he was around, he even made sure that his and Snake's friends treated her with respect, and only ever addressed her as ma'am. If some drunken idiot sidled up to her in the kitchen trying to get in her pants, Billy would chase them away. Snake too. He didn't force her to be around his questionable friends and their activities.

He would tell her to go upstairs when one of his associates dropped by, so she didn't have to see the transactions taking place. He never raised his voice at her, and he didn't tolerate Roxanne speaking down to her or insulting her intelligence whenever he was present to witness it. He never threatened her, never put his hands on her, or her mother, and he never asked for much from Tessa either. He'd been a blessing in disguise, always there to keep her mother in check. She really felt like she owed it to him, to do as he asked of her. 

He'd also paid their rent for the month, on top of countless other little ways he'd helped them, so if this was what Snake wanted, Tessa felt like she had to do it.

So she made no argument when Snake called up Billy that afternoon, and asked him to come over. Her heart was racing in nervousness, but she said not a word and idly listened while Snake chatted with Billy, smile on his face, shooting Tessa a wink when he mentioned her to Billy on the phone. Her face turned beet red at that, and she looked away, running fingers through her hair. She would never admit it to anyone, but she was also kind of excited by the prospect of getting close to Billy. He was a handsome man for his age, and surely a man like him knew what he was doing with a woman.

As long as he didn't hurt her, she didn't think it would be that bad at all. She just hoped he was happy with her too. She'd only ever been with a couple of boys, so she didn't have much experience under her belt, and what little she had wasn't all that spectacular anyway. She'd fooled around with her high school boyfriend in a parked car once, and briefly she dated a guy out of high school and had given him a blowjob. But that was the extent of it. If not for internet access, she wouldn't know a damned thing about how to please a man really, though she was not ignorant enough to assume it happened just like in porn or erotic novels.

But she tried not to think about it too hard, because it made her face turn an even deeper shade of red in the process. Instead, she rose from the couch, asking Snake if he was hungry, then whipped something up in the kitchen to preoccupy her mind while they waited for Billy. Roxanne stayed locked up in her bedroom upstairs, wallowing in her misery, and briefly a cruel thought entered Tessa's head of how nice it would be if she could just keep her mother like that for all eternity. She was a little surprised by herself, that she should think such a terrible thing, and felt guilty about it, accepting that her mother was just sick and in pain.

But what she wouldn't do to just once give an ounce of the torment her mother gave her over the years right back to Roxanne.

About an hour and a half went by before Billy's faded red Indian motorcycle could be heard coming up the road, and Tessa's heart was a war drum in her chest. 

"Little girl," Snake called from the living room, as Tessa was cleaning the kitchen, so she paused what she was doing and entered the front room. "Wontchya take a break from that and come sit down." She nodded her head and moved to sit forward on the couch, legs together and hands in her lap, every once in a while reaching up to preen her hair behind her ears in nervousness. Soon enough footsteps could be heard on the porch, then the front door being opened, Billy letting himself in like he owned the place.

He looked good that day. Had this bright smile on his face the second he laid eyes on her, and his hair was all down around his shoulders, a bit windswept from bike riding. Looked kind of breathless, like he ran all the way there. She'd never seen a man so excited to get his hands on her like that. She would be lying if she didn't admit it made her feel pretty good about herself. Roxanne could say all the wanted that Tessa was ugly and fat, but the way Billy looked at her was like she belonged on the cover of a magazine, and it felt pretty good to be wanted like that. She blushed under the attention and offered him a shy smile of her own.

He was carrying a brown paper bag, that he tossed to Snake nearby on the recliner, and Tessa didn't have to be told what it was. Couldn't hardly care either. The nightmare was over, Roxanne would get her fix, and would finally leave Tessa alone, at least until the next time she was feigning and her moods bounced up and down like a yo-yo on a string. Snake caught the bag with a 'thank you', and Billy's eyes turned back to Tessa, like he couldn't keep them off her. She was still nervous, especially when he flopped down on the couch next to her, slinging his arm over the back, but neither man said a word about it.

"The Prez here tells me ya wanted me ta come talk to ya," he said, smirking, and she nodded.

She shot a quick glance at Snake nearby, who puffed on a cigarette. "Yeah, yeah I did," she told Billy. 

In that moment everything changed, as Tessa slowly rose to do precisely what Snake had told her to do, and moved to sit on Billy's lap. The look on his face could not have been more priceless just then, and for the first time that day she cracked a genuine smile. As slick as he always seemed to be, he looked kind of lost now, like a puppy and a little dopey too, like she could tell him to do anything, and he'd do whatever she wanted, even fall to his knees and worship the ground she walked on. He smelled faintly of pot, but also of cologne. Smelled nice, and his skin felt so warm. His hands slid up her frame almost of their own accord.

She looped her arms around his neck, and said with a chuckle, "Figured we could talk about the first thing that popped up."

He snorted at her. Nearby Snake chuckled a little too. Then Billy got that big cheesy grin on his face again. "Hell, we can talk about whatever ya want to, baby girl," he said, squeezing her thigh.

There was something about resting on Billy's lap, with her arms around him, and his hand resting on her thigh, that finally put her at ease about the whole thing. Billy would never hurt her, never made her feel like he would and while he'd done some questionable things in the past, and Tessa wasn't too keen on the idea of being some biker's old lady, she didn't think fucking around with Billy would be so bad at all. He felt good, looked good too, and there were plenty of worse men out there to pick, she wagered. And when she snuck another small glance at Snake, she could see he was as content as could be too.

This was what he wanted, and he looked very smug right now, eyes narrowed to slits as he smirked in that recliner, getting precisely what he wanted.

"Wontchya take Tessa for a bike ride," he suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Billy concurred. "Whatchya think, baby girl? Gonna let me take ya for a spin?"

She didn't miss the double entendre there, and chuckled.

"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah let's go for a ride."

"Alright," he softly patted her thigh again. "Wontchya hop up and put your shoes on."

She climbed off Billy's lap and crossed the living room floor to slip her boots on over her socks and lace them up, Billy heading out before her to start his bike back up.

"You be good to that man," Snake requested, from his chair, stamping his cigarette out.

"I will," she promised, then finished tying her boots. "Are ya gonna tell my momma where I'm goin'?" she asked as she stood up, more or less just because she was curious. She watched him shrug.

"If she asks," he said. Then he leaned forward in his seat. "But it ain't none of her business," he added, pointedly. "Ya ain't a little child anymore, baby doll."

She nodded at all that, then left out the front door and skipped down the steps to Billy's Indian idling in the driveway. She climbed on behind him as he asked, "Where to, baby?"

She hugged him tightly, ignoring the way her heart pounded when her arm pressed against the holster of his pistol, and said in his ear, "Your place."

"Fuck," he cursed quietly, like she'd said the magic words. "Alright then," he said, and started down the driveway.


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just wanted to say thank you all for the comments, kudos and support ❤ Without you guys I probably wouldn't try to finish this story. It started as just a random idea that popped in my head that I couldn't resist the urge to flesh out, but now I'm invested. I may not update frequently or even regularly, but I promise this story will not be abandoned.

It didn't take long after Billy left with Tessa for Roxanne to finally come downstairs. She heard the motorcycle pull in, and hers was the front room with a view of the driveway. She could see who it was pulling in, knew Billy had come to the house. Obviously saw Tessa leaving with him too when she came tumbling down the stairs asking, "Do my eyes decieve me, or did I just see my daughter leavin' with Billy The Kid?" She stopped at the bottom of the staircase in nothing but a loose fitting silk nightgown and her house slippers.

Snake smirked at the sight of her. Of course she would come barreling downstairs the minute he left. She knew what he brought, and wanted what was in the brown paper bag on the end table between the couch and recliner where he kicked back. Oh but of course she had to make a big deal out of it first, just needing any excuse to bitch.

"Nah, ya ain't seein' things," he said, slowly shaking his head.

"So why'd ya let my daughter leave with Billy? Today's her day off, so I know damn well he ain't just takin' her to work."

Snake didn't respond right away, merely popped the foot rest down and leaned forward, snatching up the paper bag. Then he said, "Figured it was fair trade for this. Reckoned my brother oughtta be gettin' somethin' out of it too." He ended the statement with a small shrug, still smiling.

If he could believe it, Roxanne actually looked concerned. "You told my daughter to fuck him for dope?!" she snapped, stepping closer to the chair, then placing both hands on her hips. "She ain't a Hunnie, Snake. I ain't gonna have my little girl fuckin' no Pagans!"

"Your 'little girl' is twenty years old, Roxy, and she can fuck whoever she damn well wants to."

"I don't rightly care if my daughter is twenty years old or fuckin' forty, Snake! Long as she's livin' here, she's gonna do what I say, and I don't want her bein' nobody's Ol Lady!"

"Well it's a little too late to tell her that now, ain't it?"

"Dammit, Snake Eyes, the girl ain't that bright. She don't understand things the way we do. She damned sure wouldn't know how to take care of a man either. Let alone a man like Billy."

This time Snake scowled a little, especially at the way Roxy insulted her daughter's intelligence. "She ain't dumb, Roxy. She's a helluva lot smarter than you give her credit for. Might surprise you how much she knows that she don't ever let on to. And she knows exactly what she's agreein' to. Hell, she _wanted_ to. She likes Billy. I wouldn't twist her arm and make her do somethin' she didnt want to." Roxy still didnt look convinced though. "Dammit woman, I told you, I aint Captain, and that ain't what the club is about anymore...If ya ask me, never shoulda been, in the first place."

Roxy huffed and looked around, then gestured wildly to the entirety of the living room around them and the kitchen beyond. "Just look at this place! It's a fuckin' dump, Snake! She outta be home cleanin' and now you got her out there fuckin' around with Billy. I'm tellin' ya, that's how it all starts. She starts fuckin' around with some guy, then she starts gettin' lazy, thinkin' she can just go to him any time she wants somethin' so she ain't gotta work, next thing ya know she quits her job, quits doin' her housework, and ends up a fat lazy sow, fuckin' Pagans for money just like all them other club whores!"

Snake reared his head back and laughed at that. "Goddamn, Roxy!" he said, smearing a hand across his face. "Why in the hell are you so worried about that shit? She ain't gonna end up like you and all them sluts down at Prunty's, just 'cause she went for a bike ride with my brother. And even if she did, it's her life, baby doll, she can do what she wants with it. Or are ya just mad 'cause ya think she'll move out and ya won't have her around ta clean up after ya?"

Roxy didn't answer that. She didn't need to, as Snake had already gathered before now that really all Roxanne cared about was her daughter moving out and not being there to pick up after her. Forcing her to do everything herself. She would never admit it out loud though. He leaned his head a little to one side and gazed dolefully up at her.

"Or is it just my brother you got a problem with?" 

She didn't answer that either. Wouldn't dare. Not to his face anyhow. Didn't matter if this was her house or not, she knew better than to ever insult a member of the Cabinet. That was the one line he refused to let her toe. But he knew why she didn't like Billy. It wasn't because he'd ever done anything to her personally. Wasn't because he'd ever personally laid a hand on her or harmed a hair on her pretty blond head. But for something he didn't do. When Captain kicked her out of Prunty's five years ago, and left her bleeding in the parking lot, Billy was just one of many others that didn't lift a finger to help her.

Didn't do a damned thing. Just kept his mouth shut and his head down, pretending not to see anything. Like it never happened.

Wasn't like he didn't want to. He might not like Roxy, but he'd never liked seeing women beaten like that either. But just like the rest of them, Billy kept his mouth shut about all the shit that went down at Prunty's before Captain was locked away. None of them had a choice. It was do or die with the likes of Robert "Captain" Morrison, and there had only ever been one way to leave the Pagans: in a body bag. Things were different now, of course, and Snake didn't make the Ladies jump through all those bullshit hoops just to have their name on a jacket, but Roxy would likely never forgive Billy for what he didn't do, and probably should have.

Roxy could hold grudges like the Hoover Dam held up Lake Mead.

"Billy ain't gonna hurt that girl," he assured Roxy. Mostly because he'd have to deal with Snake, if he ever tried. Snake loved that little angel, was starting to think of her like his own flesh and blood. "He don't wanna take that kinda gamble with me."

She folded her arms across her busty chest and regarded him suspiciously for a moment before commenting, "You know I'm surprised you're even still here." 

"What? You really thought I'd just leave ya like that?" She shrugged her left shoulder a little, as if to say 'Well yeah I guess'. But the look on her face told him she'd really thought he'd done just what she'd suggested, and high tailed it out of there, rather than deal with all her drama, just leave and be done with her, also that maybe she regretted going off on him the way she did. The smile on his face took on a mischeivous gleam for a second or two. As if he'd ever give up that easily. Not with Roxanne Middleton. "You wound me, baby," he told her. 

"Well, I just figured you woulda left and went to Prunty's or somethin'." 

_And found someone else_ , she might've added, but she closed her mouth.

There was no one else for Snake Eyes anyway.

Roxy continued to scowl at him for a moment, before finally she sighed and slowly her eyes gravitated again to what she really cared about, the brown paper bag in his hand. "That it?" she asked, a bit impatiently, darting toward the bag like she meant to grab it, so he snatched it back and held it away from her. "Come on, baby, gimme the dope!" she whined, sounding desperate, like she'd die without it. But Snake wouldn't budge. "Come on baby please? I need it." Snake stared at her for a moment. Then he sat back in the chair, putting the bag back on the table.

"You'll get it," he promised. "It's all yours, baby, don't you worry about that...But you still ain't paid for it yet."

"I told you I ain't got no money, Snake," she huffed.

"I know."

She shot him a resentful look when she saw him unbutton his jeans, then unzip his fly, and figured out what he meant by that. Everybody else got something out of the deal. Billy got what he was after, and Roxy got her dope. Now it was Snake's turn. Didn't take long for him to get half hard, seeing Roxy standing there in nothing but that silk nightgown, those pert nipples of hers poking through the sheer fabric, hair tumbling down over one shoulder, and lips all swollen from where she'd been crying. Even when she looked at him like she hated him, she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on.

And Roxy wasn't getting an ounce until that mouth of her was wrapped around his dick.

Right now, that was all Snake really cared about.

But she didn't need much convincing. This part of the deal she was pretty well used to by now. In the time it took for him to whip out his dick and stroke it to life for her, hard, throbbing and ready to be sucked, she'd already swallowed her pride and sunk to her knees in front of him, then placed her hands on his thighs. She didn't say a word when he gripped her by the hair and pushed her head down, just opened her mouth and took in his whole length at once. His head fell back against the chair and he let out a groan, but he didn't close his eyes. He wanted to watch.

Goddamn she was good at this. Made his head spin with the way those soft heavenly lips wrapped around him and slowly pulled off. Better than heroin, in his opinion. He'd never need anything else, long as he had the drug that was Roxy Middtleton. Hell, this right here was the reason why he'd become so obsessed with her in the fucking first place. He'd never met a woman as talented with her mouth as Roxanne. She wet her lips and slicked them up and down like she was born for it. It didn't take long at all before he was raising his hips and fucking into that mouth, gripping the back of her head harshly.

He only backed off when she started jerking away from him, needing air. He loosened his grip and let her pull off far enough to suck in a few deep breaths through her nose, sucking at the tip in the meanwhile. Then he pushed her back down. He was still kind of pissed at her, so he couldn't help but take out some of his frustration on the source, fucking that mouth of hers as hard, furiously fast and deep as she could take it until she was gagging on his dick. Not that she was complaining though. She liked it when he did that, liked it when he took control and used her like the whore she'd been.

She did her best to keep up with him, bobbing her head up and down at that pace, while he thrust into that open mouth, thinking of all the vicious ways she'd hurt him that morning. Begging to fuck his friends for her precious dope, saying how he was completely worthless in her eyes if he couldn't get her fix. That heroin was all she was keeping him around for, when he'd done everything he could for her. He'd paid her bills and put up with her loud obnoxious mouth without so much as a complaint, and what did he get in return? The contents of her closet thrown at him in a childish fit.

_All I'm fuckin' good for, huh?_

He came in her mouth without any warning whatsoever, and just to add insult to injury, he shoved her head down at that same moment and just held her there, shooting cum into the back of her throat with a lengthy moan in satisfaction, eyes rolling to the back of his head. "Goddamn!" he cursed. Giving her no choice but to swallow what she could, the rest dribbling out when she coughed and sputtered. When all was said and done, she jerked away from him angrily, sitting back on her calves and wiping her face with the back of her hand. 

"Fuckin' asshole," she grumbled and Snake chuckled at that. Most of his cum was either on her chin or down her throat, so there wasn't much to clean up, and immediately he pulled up his boxers and buttoned his pants. Then he melted into the chair. "There," Roxanne huffed. "Ya got what ya wanted. Now you gonna get me high, or what?"

He shook his head. "Uh-uh," he said. "Ya ain't done yet. Wontchya go make me somethin' to eat first. Then you'll get it."

She eyed him like he'd gone crazy for a second, eyes popping out of her head as she hauled herself to her feet and swept her hair put of her face. "Ya want me ta cook for ya?" she huffed in disbelief and he nodded, reaching for his pack of smokes on the table. He watched her shift nervously in front of him, kind of reminding him of her daughter for a split second, with the way she stepped lightly from one foot to the other just like Tessa did sometimes, while he pulled a cigarette from his back and fumbled for his lighter. "Snake...I can't cook," she admitted shamefully. "I ain't any good at that shit. That's why I have Tessa make it. I-I ain't never..."

"Ain't never what? Done a damned thing for yourself?" he sneered, then touched flame to the end of his cigarette. He took a long slow drag, then added, "Figures. Well ya best get ta learnin' then, 'cause my ass is hungry, and I ain't doin' shit for you until you get your ass in that kitchen and make me somethin' to eat...Or is suckin' dick all you're good for?" 

There was hurt in her eyes at the words she'd spat at him earlier being thrown right back at her, but surprisingly she didn't comment. Didn't have one damn word to say about it. He thought she would get mad at him for how he spoke to her, but she was probably trying to kiss up to him now, so he'd get her high, because all she did was duck her head like she was embarrassed, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Maybe even teared up a little, but he couldn't rightly tell from where he sat. She stalled for a second or two, tapping her fingers on her arm, then said, "I could make you a sandwich?"

_Better than nothing._

He nodded, then relaxed in his seat as he watched her shuffle to the kitchen, puffing on his cigarette.

When she was far enough away that he was certain she wouldn't hear it, he mumbled under his breath, "And they say ya can't turn a whore into a housewife."

Then reached for the tv remote nearby, smirking. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, Billy and Tessa are up next ;)


	35. Chapter 35

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fucking finally, am I right?

Tessa was a little surprised when she and Billy pulled up next to a storefront that evening, after a nice long and slow bike ride through the country, Billy taking his sweet time to get there, just because he knew how much she liked riding. But she'd been expecting a house, or at the very least a trailer. Instead, she found herself cocking her head curiously to the side at a hanging rusted sign that said Davenport's, which was Billy's surname. She never knew what he did for a living, aside from what he did for the club, but evidently he was also a mechanic, and specifically he worked on motorcycles. 

She climbed off the backseat and removed her helmet, allowing Billy to take it off her hands and tuck it in one of the brown leather saddlebags. Then she followed him to the office door and watched him unlock it, eyes on the various bits and pieces of old or spare motorcycle parts scattered about before heading inside. She imagined that every member of the Pagan family stopped at Billy's on a regular basis for their tune up, and were probably serviced for free, long as they were wearing a Pagan patch on their vest. "You live here?" she asked as she followed him inside, and he nodded.

"Ain't much, but it's home," he commented as he crossed the space, then she watched as he opened the door to his apartment in the back, behind the office. It was sweltering hot in the living room, though she could see a ceiling fan slowly rotating once he flipped on the light. It was a cozy enough living space, with a kitchen that connected to the main area, seperated by an island counter, and bathroom just beyond. The bedroom was opposite of the kitchen, the door slightly cracked open and pitch darkness poured through. 

Could use a woman's touch though. Wasn't too disgusting or anything, but there was clutter on every surface, dirty dishes in the sink, and the ashtrays were overflowing. Billy probably didn't entertain many guests aside from club members. Tessa instinctively wanted to clean the place, absently pondering where might be a broom and dustpan to tidy up. "My dad opened up the shop," Billy commented as they wandered in and Tessa looked around. "It was his before he passed away," he added. "Died o' cancer when I was fifteen."

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said, but Billy only shrugged.

"It's alright," he said. "I've had plenty of time to move on."

"What about your mom?" Tessa asked, way too curious. "She live around here still? Or..."

"Nah. She's in prison," he said. Her brows went up. "Yeah, she remarried a few years after dad died. But her an' her my step dad had some problems in their marriage, and he treated us both like shit. Mom was kinda nuts too. She didn't take losin' dad too well. Anyway, one night they got in a fight and she stabbed him with a kitchen knife. Wasn't tryna kill him or nothin', just tryna defend herself, but she hit an arterial vein an' he bled out before the paramedics arrived. Died right there on the kitchen floor of our old house. So now mom's doin' time upstate for voluntary manslaughter."

Tessa chewed her lip a little, having some minor symathy for Billy just then, despite his nonchalant attitude over the whole thing, talking about his family tragedy like he were just remarking on the weather. "That can't be easy for ya," she found herself saying, and again, he only shrugged.

"It sucks, but..." He mulled it over in his mind for a second. "Well, I reckon she's better off anyway. And she ain't gotta put up with that asshole any longer, so she ain't complainin'. Had to sell our old place though. Couldn't afford to keep up with the payments. So now I live here in the shop. Suppose I woulda sold this place too if not for Brick. I do alright work, but I ain't got half the talent that boy's got in his pinky finger when it comes to bikes."

Tessa smiled at that. It was strange to hear him so highly praise Brick behind his back, when usually Brick seemed to royally aggravate him to no end. "Yeah Brick and the rest of the club kinda became my family after dad died," Billy continued, scratching his head. "I think if not for them, I woulda shut this place down years ago. Maybe just hopped on my bike and rode away without a second glance." Tessa's eyes made their way to a picture on the wall as he spoke. Of a man that largely resembled Billy, with his arm around a woman, a little boy standing beside them.

"That him?" she asked, pointing to the picture. "That your dad?"

"Yes ma'am," he quipped, smirking.

She found herself grinning at the tiny curly haired boy in the photo, with Billy's eyes and winsome smile. "And that's really you?" she asked him. He nodded. "Look kinda cute. What the hell happened to ya?" Billy chuckled at that.

"Too much," he sighed. "Way too much."

As she gazed at the photographs on the wall, he slowly strolled up behind her and casually slipped his arms around her waist, like it was the most natural thing to do. Tessa didn't rightly mind it. She spent some time looking at his family photos, noticing one higher up that was a picture of a slightly older Billy, next to a familiar face. "My word," she chuckled. It was a teenaged Snake Eyes slumped over on a bench, in jeans and a t-shirt, next to Billy, who sat on a bicycle, holding a soft drink. By the look of it, the picture had been taken right there outside the shop. "Is that Snake?"

"Yep."

"Y'all have really known each other that long?"

"Yep. Damned near our whole lives. Been friends that long too. Since grade school years."

"That's a long time."

"M'hmm."

As they talked, Billy had been rubbing her sides as he pressed tightly against her back, chin tucked in the crook of her neck, and instinctively Tessa squeezed him back affectionately. Just seemed right to do for some reason. The longer she spent in his company, the less nervous she became about the whole situation. The more she relaxed and let down her guard in Billy's presence. He seemed to do the same. "So, are ya hungry, baby girl?" he asked her. "I have no idea what's even in that kitchen," he laughed, "But I'm sure I could find somethin' in there to make ya."

She glanced up at him. "You'd really cook for me?" she asked, disbelievingly.

"Well, yeah?" he said. "I mean I ain't no chef or nothin', but it's edible. I ain't dead from eatin' none of it, anyhow."

She snickered at him. Well damn. This wasn't what she'd been expecting at all. Truth be told, she didn't know what to expect to take place that evening, but this sure wasn't it. She turned in his grasp to stare up at him, looping her arms around his neck. He was being entirely too endearing for his own good, fumbling to offer her food like that, and if Billy wasn't careful, he might make Tessa start to like him just a little, and not just for his looks. But after a moment to think it over, absently twirling her fingers in his hair, she bit her lip at him and said, "It's alright, I already ate."

Because what she wanted right that moment certainly wasn't food. It was for Billy to take her back to that bedroom of his and have his way with her. It must've shown on her face, because Billy, after a moment of consideration, slowly bent to capture her mouth in a kiss, making Tessa's stomach flip in excitement. He was a good kisser too. Not at all like those boys she messed around with. Clearly had experience with this sort of thing, and it showed. There was no hesitance, or nervousness in his touch, but deliberate, calculated movement that worked to light her ablaze.

As that devil tongue of his slid in and out of her mouth, so did his hands slide down her back to her ass, firmly squeezing it just once before moving back up. And just like that she was hot and wet, on the spot. Just from a kiss. She wouldn't say that it fit the bill for one of the most romantic of kisses, but it was certainly one of the sexiest, making her moan in his mouth. Then, before she knew it, she was swept up in his arms and being carted to the bedroom nearby. He kicked the door shut behind them and carried her to the bed, knocking something off the nightstand while trying to switch on the lamp.

But then he just stared down at her for a moment, as she lay on the crumpled heap of blankets beneath him. "Goddamn you're beautiful," he sighed before he kissed her again. This one was more heated than the last, and he was a lot more frisky with his hands too, groping her breast, and it made her anxious. This was really happening, wasn't it? She was really going to fuck him tonight, wasn't she? For a second, she wondered if maybe she really might be making a huge mistake, and started to second guess her decision to come here.

"Billy," she started, pulling away, heart pounding in her chest. "Billy wait."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothin', I just..." She swallowed as she stared up at him, taking a moment to think it over. Wasn't some life changing thing just to have sex with somebody - not unless she got pregnant or something - but it did feel like she was crossing some sort of invisible line by doing this. Like crossing a bridge, or taking a leap. But going down a path from which there was no turning back. "I-I just needed a second, is all," she said. Then she chuckled nervously, adding, "Just needed a breath, know whatta mean?" It made him smile, but he still looked a little concerned.

"Are you a virgin, baby girl?" he asked, and Tessa snorted.

"No, I ain't a virgin," she said, shaking her head. "I've been with a couple of guys, but...well, it's just been a while since I done anything like this."

"How long?"

"Uhm...t-two years?"

Billy eyes widened. "Two years?! Well, goddamn, baby! That's a long ass time!" Tessa winced a little, inwardly cringing in embarrassment. But Billy just shook his head and tisked, then said, "You poor thing. Havin' ta go so long without a man like that. Well, we'd better fix that, hadn't we?" He pecked her lips once with a quick kiss, then reached into the top drawer of the nightstand nearby, pulling out a box of condoms with a wink. "Ain't gonna go without long as I'm around, baby girl," he said, giving her another of his cheeky grins before returning to the bed.

She snorted a little. Thank heavens he planned to use protection, because Tessa wasn't on birth control at the moment. Too expensive, and up until now had seemed like a waste of good money. He layed the box beside them on the bed, then continued kissing her, not quite so adamantly as before, but he was still persistent. "Ain't gonna be quick either," he added in her ear before moving his mouth to her neck, softly kissing and nibbling on her flesh. "I've dreamt about havin' ya every night since I met ya, baby girl. An' I don't plan on lettin' you go anytime soon, now that I've got ya."

She whimpered a little in pleasure at the thought of what that implied. Billy taking his time with her, taking hours, maybe all night long if he had it in him to do so. "Mnh," she hummed when he found a particularly sensitive spot on her neck. One of his hands reached up under her shirt as well, and fingers dug into equally sensitive flesh. "Ya ain't gonna be too rough or nothin' are ya?" she asked, breathlessly as he moved lower, to the neckline of her low cut top. "Cause I don't really like that sort of thing," she added. Billy hummed into her skin in response.

"I can be whatever ya need me to, baby," he murmered. "Let's get you outta these clothes."

He leaned back to give her room to shift around as she undressed, and after removing his vest and setting aside his pistol, pulled his own shirt over his head before sitting up completely to yank off his boots and toss them aside. 

"You like it slow?" he asked, eyeing her naked form hungrily as he loosened his belt.

She'd never seen a man look at her like that before.

"Yeah," she answered, her own eyes fixed on his muscular torso, his broad shoulders and toned upper half.

"Alright, we'll go slow then," he told her.

Then began that slow methodical process of tearing her apart.

***

He didn't fuck her hard, but he fucked her good. Nice and slow, just what she asked for. And deep too, after spending a significant time just kissing and touching her everywhere he could, running his hands over all that buttery soft and smooth skin before going down on her for a time. He never really bothered much with foreplay when it came to previous women, couldn't really care much beyond getting in, getting off, then getting out, but with Tessa? 

He took his sweet sweet time and made every second count. Reveling in every moan and sigh that spilled out of that sexy fucking mouth of hers. She was a quiet girl though. Didn't hardly make a sound compared to some women. Billy was just too used to loud women like Candice, screaming and cursing at the top of their lungs and letting out overexaggerated moans like some kind of porn star. Every sound Tessa made was almost nonexistent in comparison. So soft and light. So meek and gentle. He kind of liked it. 

She nearly came just from him eating her out, pushing his fingers deep inside her and probing while he tongued her clit. She shook from head to toe and clenched around those fingers so tight. It made him rock hard and leaking precum at the tip just at the thought of how that was going to feel around his dick when the time came. But he had to take his time. Couldn't rush things. If she got off right away, the whole rest of the time she'd be too sensitive to fuck for very long. So he'd slow down and back off every once in a while to give her a break, and prolong that orgasm.

Oh but then actually being inside of her? A fucking religious experience, to Billy's recollection of things. Once he slid that condom on, then settled on top of her and pushed into her, he thought he might die right then, and what a fucking way to go. He'd never felt anything so snug, so perfect of a fit. So goddamn right. He spent the first hour on top, just slowly driving into her, lazily kissing her wherever he could reach. All over that pretty face, and around her neck and collar bone, the feel of her bare skin against his driving him nuts. The feel of two voluptuous breasts pushing up against his chest.

He didn't last near as long as he thought he would. Only just under two hours. It was all just too much for him to handle. Despite the coke in his system keeping him from immediately blowing his load, which should've done the trick to keep him hard, it took everything in him not to come just because that was just how good it was. He was a pile of sweat, straining to keep from giving in and fucking her hard and fast, until finally he felt this tiny fluttering sensation around his dick, when Tessa came, throwing her head back and letting out a long, slow moan.

After that he thought to torture her a while longer, keeping up with that slow pace, consistent with his thrusts. But when she couldn't take it anymore, and was just too oversensitive to fuck, she started begging him to come, and all it took were the words, "Billy please." Hearing his name on her tongue drove into a frenzy of sorts. It just sounded so damn good, that it actually made his orgasm start to build and he picked up the pace. Fucked her just a little harder and faster until he violently spilled into the condom, groaning, "Oh f-fuck, Tessa!"

The joy at being able to scream that name out loud and not having to worry about pissing off the women he was with when he got her name wrong. Billy took a moment to catch his breath before carefully pulling out of her. He pecked her on the cheek, saying, "I'll be right back, just give me a minute." He took just long enough to clean himself up and get rid of the condom before he was back in bed, sprawling across it on his back and pulling Tessa into his arms. It was way too hot for this shit, trying to cuddle atop the wrinkled sheets, but Billy couldn't care.

Five minutes into it he went to say something to her, ask her why she changed her mind about him, when he looked down to see she'd fallen asleep. He just lay there caressing her back for a time, staring at the ceiling, still too wired for sound to do the same, replaying every second of it over and over in his head. He'd have to remember to thank his brother for this. He didn't know what Snake had said to her to get her to come to her senses, but Billy was grateful for it. He couldn't fight the grin on his face as he thought about it, glancing down at the pretty girl in his arms every so often.

It was a while before she woke up, and when she did, she didn't seem too surprised to find herself there, resting her head on his chest. She snuggled closer to him, like she was fighting against awakeness, and just wanted to drift some more. He pet her head affectionately. 

"What time is it?" she grumbled.

"Early still," he replied. "It's only about eight o'clock."

"Hmph," she huffed, her breath ruffling her hair. "If I go back to sleep now I'll probably wake up way too early."

"Yeah," he breathed. Sounded like she wanted to stay the night, and just the thought of spending all night next to Tessa got his heart racing. "Why don't we get dressed and go somewhere?" he suggested. She perked up in curiousity, raising her head to look down at him.

"Where to?"

"Well, I could take ya to meet some friends of mine. Nyx and his ol' lady. I told 'em about ya."

"You talk about me?" she asked, making him smirk.

"Yeah. Nyx and Liz done heard everything about ya. They've been lookin' forward to meetin' ya. I think you'll really like 'em."

"Nyx, is he a Pagan too?"

"Yep. He's the Treasurer."

"Oh. I didn't know that."

Billy pried himself from the mattress, Tessa giving him some room so he could scoot to the edge and sit up, searching for his clothes. "They're good people," he commented as he reached for his boxers. "Known 'em both as long as I've been a member. They don't live too far from here. I'll call 'em up and see what they're gettin' into tonight." Behind him he heard a soft mumbled, "Alright then," and continued getting dressed, hearing and feeling Tessa get up to do the same. He caught sight of her naked silhouette out of the corner of his eye and bit his lip. 

Goddamn she was beautiful.

Almost too good to be true.

How in the hell did a degenerate like Billy the Kid get so damn lucky?


	36. Chapter 36

That evening Roxanne stood in front of the sink, washing up the dishes Tessa had left behind, wondering when the hell her daughter was going to be back. Snake was in the living room still, flipping through the tv guide, searching for something to watch. Her heart raced when she thought about everything that happened between them that day. In hindsight, she realized she'd made a pretty poor choice in saying all those things to him. If she'd been smart, she'd have kept her damn mouth shut, but for some reason she just couldn't.

A wiser woman than Roxanne would go in there and apologize to the man, but doing such a thing felt too much like admitting she was wrong, and she hated that. Besides, she shouldn't have to apologize for something she said in her own damned house. But it got her thinking. Got the gears turning in her head. Made her wonder why the fuck Snake was even still in her house. Made her wonder if drugs really were the only reason they were together. And now that Tessa was involved in all this, it felt like maybe Roxanne had finally let things go too far.

There were times that Tessa aggrevated her to no end, but she really did love her daughter, and up until now she thought she'd been doing right by her. She thought the way she raised her daughter would teach her better. She didn't realize how her behavior could have had such a bad influence on her. But right at that moment, as she scrubbed dishes squeaky clean, her daughter was out fucking a Pagan in exchange for the heroin he brought. And that was all because of Roxy. Because of her habit, Tessa was becoming a whore, just like her mother.

Her insides ached with the desire to stick that needle in her arm, but having gone just long enough without it to make her a bit more clear headed on the matter, she was starting to realize how that habit was destroying her. She wouldn't feel that way the second that dope flooded her veins, but for the moment, clean and sober, Roxy was having a bout of perfect clarity. She needed to quit. And she needed to do it now, before it was too late. But she was scared. Terrified that Snake would hold her down and pump her full of drugs anyway, to keep her addicted, and under his control.

That's what Knoxville did to his old lady. Roxy had heard all about it before she was kicked out of Prunty's. She couldn't for the life of her understand why Danielle wouldn't just leave that bastard, and had pulled her aside one night to talk to her about it. Everyone knew that he was abusive to her. But nobody would lift a finger to help her. Knoxville was fiercely loyal to Captain, who would let him do whatever he damn well wanted to, long as he obeyed Captain's orders. He could beat his wife for so much as breathing wrong in is presence if he wanted.

So since the club wouldn't do jack shit for her, Roxy had intervened. Dragged her outside and drilled her about her husband's behavior. "Why don't you just divorce him, Dani?" she'd asked. "Your brother's a city cop, he could help ya. You could just go stay with him." 

But Dani, who'd burst into tears at her brother's mention, just repeatedly shook her head. It was true that Ray was a police officer, and would do anything in his power to help her if he could, but there was only so much he could do because Knoxville lived outside city limits, which was outside his department's jurisdiction, and since he was a family member, any investigation into Knoxville's activities wouldn't be allowed because of his personal investment in it. No other city cop would lift a fibger because Captain paid the chief of police to stay out of the Pagans' way. And Dani wasn't even allowed to talk to her brother on the phone, on account of how much Knoxville hated the man's guts. 

"I can't just leave him, Roxy. He'll take my kids!" Dani swore. "Family court ain't gonna give them girls to no drug addict."

That's when she showed Roxy the track marks in her arm, making her intinctively clutch her own elbow, where under her sleeve she'd hidden needle marks for years. Dani admitted that Knoxville kept her drugged up on heroin, not only so she'd be dependent on him for her addiction, but so that CPS would take her kids from her if she ever tried to take him to court. With no job, no car, and no money of her own, she was stuck with Knoxville, because the minute they drug tested her, she'd lose custody of her two daughters. It was a fucked up game he'd played with the woman.

Roxy shuddered at the memory of that conversation, and thanked the good Lord she was with Remington now. But Snake? Though he swore up and down he wasn't anything like Captain, and did away with a lot of shit Robert Morrison had allowed to take place in Pagan establishments, Roxy couldn't be certain this wasn't just an elaborate ruse to gain her trust and keep her under his control as well. He'd admitted he'd always had a thing for her. What if his feelings for her were no different than Knoxville's obsession with Dani had been? 

And what if he was also using heroin to keep her coming back to him?

She backed away from the sink to peer through the entryway and see Snake Eyes sitting in her recliner, remote in hand, flipping through channels still. Despite all the awful things she'd said to him, he was still there in her house, acting like nothing had happened at all. Like their fight never took place. What if he was so determined to stay because he didn't want her to be with anyone else? What if everything he'd done to become President of the chapter was all so he could have her to himself? Was that egotistical to think that of herself?

That Snake could be so twisted as to center his entire world around a single woman like this? 

Or did he really just like her a whole lot and want to be in a relationship with her that he was willing to do whatever it took to make her happy?

Well, there was only one way to find out. Because Roxy had made up her mind. This had gone on for long enough.

She dried the counter with a hand towel, then draped it over the handle of oven door before strolling back into the living room and seating herself on the couch nearest Snake. Crossed one leg over the other and folded her arms across her chest. Neither said a word at first, as Snake settled on some primetime television to watch and flipped to that channel. Some investigative series Roxy had never heard of, and didn't care to watch. She drummed her fingers against her arm and gently tapped her foot against her ankle. Her heart raced in her chest.

Snake must've assumed she was getting anxious because she hadn't got her fix yet, so when he saw her restlessness, he reached into the brown paper bag on the end table and pulled out a small clear plastic that dope had been dumped into, the cellophane from a cigarette pack then sealed with the flick of a lighter, from the look of it. He tossed it in her lap. "That's all I get?" she asked, slight tremor in her voice. Snake nodded his head. She looked over to see his frown, sharp features lit by the brightness of the tv screen.

"For right now," he said. Then he sighed. "Roxy, baby, I know you're gonna hate this, but you really need to start cuttin' back on this shit. I can't keep callin' up my friends to get you dope like this." She opened her mouth to say she wanted to quit, but closed it when Snake held up a hand. Thinking she meant to argue, he added, "Look, I get it. I can't tell you what to do, and I can't expect ya to listen to me, and I know you're gonna do whatever ya want regardless of what I got to say about it, but I'm just askin' ya to slow down a little, that's all."

Roxanne took a deep breath through her nose and let it out slow. Then she slowly rose from the couch, clutching the tiny plastic bag tightly in her left hand. With a backward glance at Snake Eyes, she turned and walked across the living room to the stairs. She took each step one at a time, and it felt like hours before she finally reached the top, then crossed the hallway to her bedroom. She flipped on the light and headed straight for the nightstand next to the bed, pulling open the top drawer. Inside was a tray - the lid from an old tin cookie box that she'd held onto - and on that tray was a syringe, among other things.

She picked up the items, tray and all, and stared at them for a moment, eyes darting back and forth between the tray and the plastic bag she clutched, feeling a bead of sweat start to form on her brow. She knew that once that smack entered her veins she'd forget all about what happened that day. She'd forget about everything and everyone, including every dark memory that was ever seared into her brain. She would no longer care about anything or anyone because she wouldn't feel a thing, and she knew how blissful that numbness could be.

But the sober Roxy just couldn't bring herself to do it this time around. It just...it wasn't right anymore. Didn't make her feel good when she thought about it, just made her feel sick. Dragging Tessa into her mess had seemed like the last straw. The final strike against her conscience to finally wake her up and make her realize how badly she fucked up. Roxy burst into silent tears on the spot and stayed that way for a while, shuddering as she noiselessly cried while holding that damnable tray and that accursed fucking heroin.

She was just a piece of trash, wasn't she? Letting her boyfriend pawn her daughter off on one of his friends just for a little smack.

After a time, Roxy took a deep breath, squared both shoulders, then took the tray and the unopened bag downstairs. 

Snake was right where she left him, kicked back in the recliner. She sat back down on the couch, set the tray on the coffee table in front of her, then tossed the bag on top of it. "I don't want it," she said defiantly. "I'm done, Snake Eyes. I'm quittin'."

She expected Snake to get pissed at that, at least for having to go through all that trouble of getting it only for her to not even want it. But she hadn't expected for him to just stare at her, puffing on his cigarette with a blank expression. "Ya sure that's what ya want?" he asked her and she nodded. "Alright then," he shrugged. He let down the foot rest, leaned forward and snatched up the brown paper bag with the rest of his stash, and the tray next. Then he got up and walked across the living room, taking all of it to the kitchen. 

She heard shuffling noises, the sounds of Snake rummaging her cabinets and grew curious. She wandered into the kitchen just as Snake was heading out the back door with it, flipping on the porch light as he passed, and watched in fascination from the window above the sink as Snake tossed a bunch of paper items in the burn barrel in the back yard, then ambled back over to the porch. He picked up the tray and a bottle of butane lighter fluid. Then he tossed the tray in the barrel next. Finally he doused the whole inside of it with a shit ton of lighter fluid, and tossed in his cigarette to light it. 

Within seconds the paper ignited, and the whole thing roared brightly to life with yellow and orange flame.

All of it, the drugs, the needle, everything. Gone, just like that.

He stood and watched it all burn for a time, hands shoved in his pockets, and meanwhile Roxy huffed in disbelief, then moved to the kitchen table to light a cigarette and plop down in the nearest chair, tugging her ashtray closer. And just like that it was over. No more dope for Roxy. But she couldn't wrap her head around why he would just destroy his entire stash like that. She was halfway through her cigarette when he came back inside, having made sure the whole thing had burned in the barrel, presumably.

He rubbed his chin as he slowly wandered over to the table, then sat down across from her.

"Why'd ya do that?" she asked him. 

He just shrugged and said, "Well, you said you didn't want it, so there ain't no sense in havin' it around."

"But...but what about you?"

He chuckled a little. "Oh hell, Roxy, I quit that shit years ago," he explained, to Roxanne's utter shock. "I just did it with you every so often so you'd keep trustin' me with that shit. 'Cause you know I wouldn't stick ya full of somethin' I weren't willin' to stick myself with." He reached into the pocket of his vest for yet another cigarette, sifted one out of the crumpled pack and lit it up. The zippo made a sharp snap of a sound when he closed it. He tapped it on the table a few times in thought. "I can tell ya baby, it's gonna be hard, quittin' cold turkey."

"Snake, you just fried a couple hundred dollars worth of dope," she said.

"Well yeah," he said, then took a drag off his cigarette. He snorted. "Billy would strangle my ass if he knew he went through all that trouble of gettin' it back from Corley for no goddamn reason," he said. Then added, smirking, "Well...I guess not entirely for no reason...But I wager it's better to get rid of it now than keep it around as a temptation for ya, if you're tryna quit. 'Cause that shit ain't easy." 

Roxy flipped the ashes off her cigarette into the tray. "You really don't care about that shit?"

Snake shook his shaggy head. "No, baby, I don't give a flyin' fuck about it. I only ever bothered with it 'cause that's what you wanted. But look here, if this is what you're wantin', to quit all that shit and be done with it, then that's what I want too. I just want ya to be happy, baby. It's as simple as that."

Roxy's eyes burned with unshed tears for a moment upon hearing that, before eventually they came prouing out of her and she burst into sobs. She didn't even know why she was crying like this, but to hear Snake say those things, that he just wanted her to be happy, it wrenched something out of her that she'd thought she'd lost the ability to feel years ago. "Oh hey now," Snake cooed softly, reaching across the table for her hand. "Come here," he said, so Roxy set her cigarette in the ashtray and got up from the table, letting Snake pull her down onto his lap. "It's gonna be alright," he said to her.

He held her for a while, rubbing her back while she sniffled into his shoulder, keenly aware that she was getting her salty tears all over his denim vest. She knew members were very particular about not ruining their cut. After a while she wiped her face, and lifted her head to look down at Snake. He looked rather handsome from this angle. Had she ever taken a moment to appreciate how handsome he was before? But by god he was a good looking man.

"Sorry I'm cryin' all over your cut," she mumbled contritely, fingers brushing over the wet spot on his shoulder. 

"Oh hell it ain't a big deal," he chuckled. "It's fine, baby. Just a little salt water."

He gently brushed her cheek with his rough fingers.

Roxy just couldn't stop staring into those vivid green eyes of his.

"You said ya quit years ago," she reiterated, and he nodded in confirmation. "I don't understand, how'd ya get through it?" she asked, knowing that if only a few days without it were hell, several years had to have been worse. Especially if he'd get back on it every now and then for her sake.

But he just shrugged a little. "Smoked a lotta weed," he answered simply.

"It was that easy?"

He laughed a little. "I didn't say that. But yeah, gettin' stoned helps ta take the edge off the withdrawal." He patted her backside affectionately, then said, "Tell you what, why don't we go upstairs, kick back for a while an' burn one? How's that sound?"

"Uhm, alright then," Roxy agreed, then let Snake up from the table and followed him upstairs to sprawl out on her bed and watch him roll a joint.


	37. Chapter 37

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have a chapter of Brick trying his hardest to be a gentleman. XD

At that same moment, on the other side of town, a petite redhead puffed on her cigarette as she hoofed it down the road in her work shoes, still wearing her uniform with a little nametag that said 'Denise' in bold black letters, slinging her purse over one shoulder. Her shift let off around eight, and as her roommate was still working, Denise was stuck walking back to her apartment that night. She didn't mind having to walk. It was good exercise. But she didn't like how often cars would slow down next to her, and the men inside would offer to give her a lift home.

She imagined that most of them were decent men, who sincerely meant no harm, but she'd rather not take a chance on a complete stranger, so she always turned down their offers. Better to be safe than sorry. She watched the news, and sadly knew all too well how likely it was to be picked up by some creep with bad intentions. In her old neighborhood, it happened on a weekly basis. At first she thought she wouldn't have to worry about such a thing, living in a smaller town, until she found out how many crimes occurred in that town, and just how often the police arrested someone for assault.

It might seem on the outside like just another friendly country town full of old folks and families, but that wasn't exclusively the case, and knowing so few people in that town meant Denise was more paranoid there than she'd ever been in a metroplitan area. And that night her heart started racing because halfway to her apartment, a rusted Ford pick-up slowed to the pace of a snail next to her on the two lane highway and kept time with her as she walked. Rather than make an attempt to shoe away whoever was inside, she flicked her cigarette to the sidewalk and started walking faster.

"Hey!" someone inside the truck called as they rolled down the window, and it was a man's voice, so she sped up again. But then they called, "Denise?!" She stopped in her tracks and so did the truck. Whoever was inside recognized her. She turned just in time to see them step out, and recognized the face too. A young man of similar age with long pale blonde hair stepped out of the truck and shut the cab door. "Denise, it's me!" Brick said to her. "It's me. Brick? From the bar. I was the one that ran that guy off."

"Oh hey!" Denise chirped, heart racing madly in her chest. She honestly thought she'd never see him again. "I'm sorry. I thought you were just some creep trying to pick me up," she chuckled, starting to walk back over to him, adjusting her purse.

"Well, I ain't creep, anyway," he said, smiling a little and scratching the back of his neck.

She snorted. He was still wearing that dark denim vest that said Prospect on it, as if he never took it off - maybe he wasn't allowed to - jeans and a t-shirt underneath. She would never forget the way he'd slammed that weirdo into the counter at Prunty's bar and held a knife to his throat. It was absolutely terrifying, albeit quite chivalrous of him. She'd never went back to that place after that, no matter how much Lacy begged her to go. "Whatchya out here walkin' for?" he asked her as he sidled up, hands in his pockets. 

She glanced around. They were in the middle of nowhere, there was no other traffic, and no houses around either. There would be no witnesses if Brick didn't actually have any good intentions. But...well, he didn't seem all that bad of a guy really. Just not the kind of guy she was used to dealing with. But he seemed harmless enough...for the most part, anyway. "I was just walking home from work," she told him, crossing her arms over her chest. "Lacy has the car and she doesn't get off until eleven so I'm just, you know, kind of stuck fending for myself tonight."

"Well that sucks," he commented. "Why don't I give ya a lift?" he offered next and Denise winced a little.

"No, I'm alright, really. It's not that far. I'm kind of used to it."

"Oh come on now," he said. "Let me give you a ride. Pretty girl like you shouldn't have to walk anywhere."

Despite her nervousness, Denise couldn't help but smile at the compliment. So Brick thought she was pretty, huh? But she said, "Pretty or not, people have legs. Being a woman has nothing to do with it. Would you still want to help me out if I were just some guy?"

He shrugged a little. "I guess not," he said. "But I'm just tryna be nice, that's all."

"Well, thank you, but I'm perfectly fine."

She turned to keep walking, but stopped again when he said, "You don't trust me do ya?" She turned around. He wore a sad expression, like he was dissapointed at that fact. Or maybe like he got that response from people far too often who were too quick to judge him based purely on his appearance. "I get it," he said. "Guess if I were you I wouldn't trust me either. Me bein' the Prospect of a biker club an' such." He rubbed the back of his neck, staring at his boots. "Supposin' if I were a woman I wouldn't wanna get in a truck with my ass anyway."

She sighed a little. "I-It's not any of that," she assured him. "It's just that I don't really know you. How could I be sure that if I got in that truck with you that I'd actually be going home? Instead of wherever you decided to take me?"

He chewed on his bottom lip before reaching in his pocket for his truck keys. Then he held them out to her. "Then here. You drive then."

"You'd...you'd let me drive your truck?"

"Well yeah. Then ya know for sure you'll get where you're goin'."

She glanced at the keys. "But then you'd still know where I live."

He rolled his eyes. "This ain't that big of a town. Everybody knows where everybody lives. I'd've found out eventually."

"Good point, I guess." She reached for the keys and twirled them around her finger. "I've never met a guy who'd just let some random chick drive his truck. I thought all guys were anal about that sort of thing. I mean, what if I'm a bad driver?"

"Oh hell, I don't give two shits about that truck," he chuckled. "You could dent it up all ya like. Now if it were a bike, it might be a different story. Wouldn't let no woman ride my motorcycle, 'less she were sittin' behind me. 'Sides, you ain't big enough to hold one balanced."

"You have a bike?"

"Well, I did, but I had to get rid of it. I ain't allowed to have my own 'til I become a member."

"Hmm," she hummed, nodding her head slightly.

But just then a new set of headlights flashed behind them as it neared the truck, and a car horn honked because they were blocking their path. Denise took all of two seconds before making up her mind and walking around Brick to the driver's side door of his pick-up. Brick climbed in the passenger's side, and after adjusting the seat, Denise stuck the key in the ignition, started the engine, then shifted into drive. Luckily it was an automatic - she couldn't drive standard to save her life - and it wasn't much trouble to handle.

The two were quiet for a time as she drove, Brick just kicking back in the passenger's seat, along for the ride, before he finally spoke and asked, "So where do ya work at?"

She made a quick glance to see he'd been staring at her shirt, and as he didn't see a logo anywhere, he thought to ask. "Oh, I work at Bernie's," she answered. "Ever been there?"

"Yeah. Used to eat there all the time back in highschool. Me an' my friends would go there every Saturday. Best milkshakes in the county."

She smirked at that. People liked to say that, but if they knew what she went through to clean out the shake machine before closing shift ended, they'd never drink a milkshake ever again. "So do have a regular job? Or do you just, you know, do things for the club?"

"Oh I got a regular job too," he assured. "I work for the VP. He owns that bike shop in town. Davenport's."

"So you're a mechanic?"

"Yeah."

"That's cool. My dad was mechanic too. He worked on cars though. He was obsessed with, like, old sixties and seventies stock and muscle cars. He was even a member of the National Muscle Car Association and pitted for some of their races. He was super passionate about it. Now, you want to meet some guys that are particular about motors? Those guys are more possessive of their cars than any bikers with their motorcycles, if you can believe it," she laughed. So did he. But then he shook his head.

"Well I dunno about that, really. I mean, I've seen guys get laid out if they so much as got too close to a Pagan's bike, let alone touched it. You fuck with a Pagan's ride, that's a death sentance right there."

"Damn," she chuckled. "Just a little protective of their rides, are they?"

"Oh yeah. Almost as much as their women."

Denise quirked a brow at that. "I always thought it was the other way around. That nothing was more important than their motorcycle."

"Well to some people it is. Hell, most men'll put their dog first, before they put any kinda girl on a pedistal. But it ain't really wise to do so. Not when the right woman comes along. 'Cause you can fix a bike, but you can't replace a good woman."

Denise pondered that as she drove them the rest of the way to her and Lacy's apartment. Brick eventually changed the subject and asked her more questions, like how long she'd lived there, where she used to live before, asked more about her family and just general getting to know one another questions. He mentioned that he wasn't very close to his biological family, and that Billy, who was the VP of the club, was more like family to him than his own. That's why he decided to join the club. Billy had been there for him when he needed it, offered him a place to stay, gave him a job.

Of course Brick was no model citizen, and he admitted to having a criminal record, but the more Denise heard what he had to say about himself, the less he sounded like a total degenerate. When she pulled up in front of the apartment building and shifted into park, she was actually kind of sad the conversation would be over now, because she wanted to spend more time talking to him. Get to know him better. Maybe find out more about the club too. She didn't actually know much about motorcycle clubs, other than what she learned from watching tv.

Not that she had any interest in actually living that kind of lifestyle, the life of a biker lady, but she was a tad bit curious as to what it must be like. And...well, she liked Brick. He seemed okay.

With a sigh, she shut the engine off, took the keys out of the ignition switch and handed them to Brick.

"This is me," she said, pointing to the building.

When she got out of the truck, he did the same, and she walked around the front to meet him by the steps.

"Thank you for the ride," she said to him, smiling.

"Anytime," he told her. "Weren't really no trouble. It was nice seein' you again." He took a breath, glancing around the enclosure, before saying, "Well, I guess this is goodbye then."

She chuckled. "You're not going to ask if you can come in?"

"Well, I...I didn't think you'd want me to."

"You know, I didn't picture you being such a gentleman."

"To be honest, I normally ain't," he admitted, running his hands through his hair. "I usually don't have to be with women. But you really didn't strike me as that type o' girl."

"And just what makes you think I'm not?"

"Well, you ain't tryna get in my pants, for one thing," he said, and she snickered.

Then she did something bold. Something she wouldn't normally do. She stepped closer, and stood on her tiptoes to peck his lips with a kiss. It wasn't deep, just a chaste mouth to mouth, but it got the point across. "How can you be sure of that either?" she said. She watched him bite his lip, looking as if he were internally debating something for a moment, but then he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer, intent on giving her a deeper kiss. They stayed that way for a moment, simply exploring each other's mouths, the smell of his cologne and the taste of him filling her senses.

"Goodnight, Brick," she said with a smile when she pulled away.

"Goodnight," he said, letting her go, and she started up the steps. "Wait!" he called, making her stop and turn. "Can I get your number this time around?" he asked. "Was thinking maybe we could, I dunno, go out sometime or…or somethin'."

She smirked, then shuffled back down the steps to give him her phone number.

She hoped he didn't lose it.


	38. Chapter 38

Tessa felt like a brand new person when she straddled the back seat of Billy's Indian that night. With the wind in her hair, and the smell of rain thick and heavy in the atmosphere, it was like some strange spell had been put on her, as they zipped down the highway, headed to Liz and Nyxon's house. They lived by the river that would its way through town, in a little garage apartment. A tall, grizzly dark haired figure was already standing outside near the steps that led to the second floor when they pulled in. 

He puffed on a cigarette and might look threatening if Tessa didn't know this man was Nyxon. He wore a black t-shirt with some skulls on the front, beneath a faded denim vest that said Pagan Outlaws. His hair hung down in his eyes, that narrowed suspiciously when Tessa and Billy stepped off the bike and walked up to him. But he didn't say anything untoward, simply asked, "What's goin' on, brother?" And he pinched his cigarette between his lips to free his hand in order to shake Billy's. 

"Nothin' much," Billy replied, smiling. "Tessa, this is Nyxon. Nyxon, this here's my little angel I was tellin' you all about."

"So you're Roxy's little girl, huh?" he asked her, and she nodded.

"It's nice to meet ya," she said.

"You too." He spent a few seconds just looking her up and down before he said, "Wonchy'all come on in." And so they followed him up the steps and into the apartment. He was almost the polar opposite of Billy's demeanor. Where the Kid was all friendliness and smiles, Nyx seemed kind of grumpy in comparison. Quiet too. Watchful. Somewhat like Snake, only he didn't have that gleam in his eye, like he was cooking something up, or plotting against somebody. No, that look was mostly reserved for the President of the Pagans. Nyx, on the otherhand, was probably just the normal level of suspicious towards people.

Nyx was asking them if they were hungry or thirsty, saying that Liz just threw a pizza in the oven, as Tessa's eyes made their way around the living room. It was precisely what she expected it to be. There was a Confederate flag hanging on the wall, a poster of the Grim Reaper holding his scythe, surrounded by ghosts and skeletons. Various knicknacks scattered about. A bag of chips and empty soda cans on the coffee table. Blankets and pillows bunched up on the couch, and the tv was on, as if they'd interrupted Nyx and Liz snuggled up and watching tv when they called. 

"I'll take a beer," Billy was saying to Nyx, to Tessa's chagrin, and she hoped he only planned on having just the one, as Liz was entering the room from where she'd been milling about their small kitchen.

She was pretty for her age. Looked to be in her late thirties, or maybe early forties, and maybe had a stray silver hair here and there, but her head was mostly covered in curly black still. She styled her hair in a short bob and wore dark shadow on her eyes. She was dressed in a tight fitting black t-shirt and wearing denim shorts. She was barefoot, and both sets of finger and toe nails were painted a dark blood red, but what struck Tessa the most was that just like Dani, she wore her vest even in the comfort of her own home, though there were no other people present besides Nyxon. 

"Hey Billy!" she chirped with a bright, friendly tone, and came up to hug him, then peck him on the cheek with a kiss. Tessa's heart made a thump at another woman showing him affection, but she did her best to squash any sort of jealousy. She didn't appear as if she harbored any sort of crush on Billy, and her actions seemed more like sisterly affection than anything else. Plus, if Nyxon and Billy were brothers in the club, then technically that made Liz his sister-in-law anyway. But Tessa anxiously shifted from foot to foot. She was always terrible at meeting new people.

She was always worried about how she came off to people, and she was especially worried tonight because surely these people knew who her mother was. Confirmed when Liz said, "So this is Roxy's little girl, huh?" But she didn't make it sound like it was a bad thing. Just a stated fact. 

"I'm Tessa. You're Liz right? It's nice to meet ya."

"You too, honey," she smiled, then she and Nyx invited them into the kitchen to sit, have a beer and relax while they waited for the pizza to be ready. Billy plopped down on the nearest chair and pulled Tessa into his lap, acepting the beer Liz handed him. She asked if Tessa wanted anything, like water or soda, obviously knowing Tessa wasn't old enough to drink alcohol yet. They talked for a while, crowded around that kitchen table, cigarette smoke clouding the air. Nyxon was your typical man of few words, hardly had much to say. Liz was the talkative one. 

Much like others, once they knew who she was, Liz was also astounded that Tessa could be related to Roxanne, seeing as they were both so different. Evidently, Roxy had quite the reputation among the Pagans. She'd never heard much about it until now, but Liz let Tessa in on some of the drama that had gone on between Roxanne and members' old ladies in the past, and the picture she painted should've come as no surprise to Tessa, really. But it seemed what did Roxy in where the Pagans were concerned was being a literal homewrecker, as she'd slept with many of their husbands.

She'd stayed away from Pagan establishments since then, and for the past five years had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the club, but Snake recently moving in with her was bound to change all that. After spending some time hearing about all her mother's past misdeeds, the oven beeped, as the pizza was now fully cooked, so Liz paused in her recounting to grab an oven mitt to take it out. As they ate, the boys then changed the subject - obviously having heard quite enough about Roxanne Middleton for one night - and started talking about the upcoming rally instead.

Rallies were when all the members and their old ladies got together to ride, they said. They were most usually on the weekends, sometimes after club meetings, but some times they'd schedule a Sunday ride. But it was most usually an all day affair, with several stops to make, a party held at Prunty's, and the Ladies also provided food and soft drinks for everyone. Sometimes there were bigger events that might include live enteraintment, and there was one annual rally they all went to, whose invitation extended to every chapter of the Pagan Outlaws and their families.

Tessa warred with her guilty conscience over that piece of pizza on her plate as they talked. She was supposed to be on a diet, and she knew that one cheat would only lead to another where food was concerned, but she didn't want to be rude and refuse anything Nyx and Liz offered her, so she ate it slowly, hoping she'd be full from just one piece. "So you wanna come ridin' with us, this Sunday, baby girl?" Billy asked her, before taking a bite of his own slice. After chewing and swallowing, he added, "It'll be fun. And it'll get ya outta the house for awhile."

"You sure that's a good idea?" Nyx asked him, mouthful of pizza. 

Then Liz added, "Whatchya think Candice is gonna do when she sees this little girl on the back o' your bike?"

"Who's Candice?" Tessa asked.

"Oh Lord, ya ain't told her about Candice yet?" Nyx asked, and Tessa's eyes flitted back and forth between both men.

"Tessa ain't one of the Ladies, Billy," said Liz. "You know she ain't gotta extend no kinda courtesy to her like she does the rest of us."

"Yeah I know."

Again, Tessa asked him, "Who's Candice?"

"My ex," he answered with a frown.

"Oh," she chirped. 

"That's puttin' it mildly," Liz chuckled across from them. She got up to take her empty plate to the sink and rinsed it off, adding, "Candice is the bane of his existence, is what she is." 

"Yeah and I still gotta bone to pick with you about that," Billy grunted. "What'd ya have to go an' make her a Lady for, huh?"

"That can't be helped, Billy and you know that," Liz sighed. "She proved herself to the club. Wouldn't be fair to her if I didn't." Liz wiped her hands and rejoined them at the table, lighting up a cigarette. "And seein' as she's got her name on her jacket now, and Tessa don't? She ain't gonna take too kindly to some other girl havin' what she feels she has earned the right to have. And she may not be able to take it out on you personally, Billy, but you know that won't stop her from takin' it out on her. She's fair game, as far as everybody else is concerned."

Tessa got this sneaking suspicion that Candice didn't really deserve to have a name on her jacket, or be a Lady of the club, but she made no comment on the matter. She really had no idea what women had to do in order to be considered Ladies. Only what Dani had told her about it, which was that Ladies were women who'd proved their loyalty to the Pagans, somehow. She just didn't know how. She didn't rightly care to hear that Candice could stake some sort of claim on Billy though, just because she was a Pagan woman and Tessa wasn't. Not that Billy belonged to her either.

"Well, are they married?" Tessa asked Liz, who's brows went up at the question. "'Cause if she ain't got no patch on her jacket sayin' Property of Billy the Kid, then I don't see where she has any right to dictate who he messes around with."

Nearby, Nyx chuckled a little. "Spoken like a Middleton," he said, then handed his empty plate to Liz. Tessa swallowed the lump in her throat at those words. 

"You just let me worry about Candice," Billy told her. "And don't you worry your pretty little head about that shit. Candice don't mean shit to me, and she knows it."

"But if what Liz said is true, and she can take it out on me, then just me bein' here with you is gonna cause a problem, ain't it?"

"I ain't gonna let her do nothin' to ya," he swore. 

Tessa's heart raced in her chest. She wasn't really worried about whether or not she could handle herself in a fight, or if this mysterious Candice really posed that much of a threat. She'd taken enough beatings from her mother to know what she could take from somebody. And if she got her ass handed to her, oh well. Served her right for not being better in a fist fight. But on the offchance that Candice should cause problems, and Tessa was forced to duke it out with her, how much trouble would Tessa get into for fucking up one of the Pagan's Ladies? 

Would Snake come to her defense, seeing as he was the one to encourage her to get involved with Billy? Or would the Pagan code prevent him or anyone else from interfering, seeing as Tessa was an outsider? Once the men were finished eating, Nyx invited Billy downstairs to the garage, leaving the hens to cluck in the kitchen. Now that Tessa was alone with Liz, she didn't quite know what to say to the woman. "You need some help cleanin' up?" she asked her.

Liz shook her head. "No, that's alright honey. I got it." Then she puffed on her cigarette some more. "By the way, I hope you know anything I said about your mother, it don't extend to you," she added. "I ain't got nothin' against ya, and ya seem like a real nice girl." She chuckled. "Probably the best Billy's ever brought around, actually."

Tessa smiled a little. "It's quite alright," she said. "I know how my momma can be. I don't take it personally."

"As well you shouldn't. You're a good girl, Tessa. Billy's lucky to have ya. Hell, he's much better off with a sweet little thing like you than any of the bitches he usually brings around, if you ask me."

Again, Tessa's heart raced.

People sure did like seeing her with Billy, didn't they?

It made her wonder how just bad this Candice woman must've been in comparison.


	39. Chapter 39

"So what do women actually have to do to become Ladies?" Tessa asked, and Liz stamped her cigarette out in the ashtray between them.

She studied Tessa for a moment, lacing her fingers together on the table. Her brown eyes were so bright and curious, and she reminded Liz a lot of herself when she was younger. Sixteen years old and so determined to be apart of Nyxon's life that she was willing to do anything and everything she had to in order to carve out her place in their world. So in love with the man that when he started prospecting for the Pagans, she'd gotten her hands on a fake I.D. so she could sneak into Prunty's and start her own pursuit of being Nyxon's old lady.

Seemed like a lifetime ago.

Of course, times had changed, and now that Captain was a distant memory and Snake Eyes was President in his place, things were much different, and Liz didn't expect the women to make all the sacrifices she'd had to make when she was younger - and of course the woman had to be of age now too, at least over eighteen to be Ladies - but she could still remember a time when she wouldn't be encouraging any girl to try it, and instead warn them away from such a venture. When she'd regretted the choice she made, and regretted ever setting foot in Prunty's.

Especially once learning what women had to endure once they were in, what they had to do in order to stay, and once learning there was no getting out when Captain was in charge. She gazed at Tessa across the table and all the memories of it came flooding back once she asked that question. From what she'd seen so far, Tessa would make a good Pagan woman. She was ever so polite and respectful, and based on what Billy had to say about her, Liz didn't have a doubt that Tessa would be cut out for the life, and really shine as a Lady, provided she was willing to play by Pagan rules.

But Liz wasn't so sure she was that kind of girl. She certainly weren't no slut, that was for sure. She wasn't one of the typical hang-arounds looking to get in good with the Pagans to score free shit. She didn't even drink beer either, let alone was she your typical bar fly. "Why're ya askin'?" Liz inquired first before answering her question, to which Tessa shrugged, preening a strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. Everything about her demeanor was just so tame, so docile, in comparison to the loud, cursing heathens Liz was usually surrounded by. Just an innocent little thing.

"Well, momma never mentioned knowin' any Pagans before bringin' Snake around. She never talked about the club, so I was just curious what it was like."

"That's surprisin'," Liz commented. "Usually Roxanne's got a blabbermouth. I woulda figured she'd done told you all there was to know about the life."

Tessa slowly shook her head. "I mean I know she's a prostitute. Ain't no big secret. Everybody in town knows what my momma gets up to, only they don't talk about it 'cause it's illegal."

"But you never knew she prospected for the Ladies?"

"No ma'am."

Liz snorted at the address. "Oh hell, ain't no need for that ma'am nonsense," she said. "You can just call me Liz." Tessa gave a quiet nod at that. Liz sighed at her. "Well, normally I'd wait 'til you've been around for a while before I'd let ya in on any o' the Ladies' secrets, or teach ya any tricks of the trade, but I reckon you're already on the up-and-up, given how much you know about your momma. This ain't really gonna come as no surprise to ya. And if Snake's got his heart set on your momma, and Billy's got eyes for you now too, better you know what you're gettin' yourself into." 

She got up from the table and motioned for Tessa to follow, saying, "Follow me." She led her to her and Nyx's bedroom and sat her down on the bed. Then she bent to open the bottom drawer of her dresser, pulling it all the way out and setting it aside. Beneath it, between the bottom of the drawer and the floor underneath the dresser, she'd stored a large manila envelope for safe keeping. She snatched it up, opened it, and pulled out one of several small books, only maybe the size of her hand. It was the handbook she eventually gave to all the Hunnies once it looked like they were willing to stick around.

Candice had been one of them, when the poor girl struggled to get the hang of things, because even though she was more than willing to put out for the men, and was more than happy to accept what they offered in return, she had trouble learning her place and staying in it. Much like Tessa's mother, she had an attitude problem, and acted like she was entitled to shit just because she'd fuck anything that walked and she knew the men liked that about her. Liz struggled to get her to understand certain aspects of the club without risking telling her too much too soon about how it operated.

There were other problems that arose as well, not just for Candice, but any women looking to join them, especially after Snake started changing some things around, and the club transitioned into that new post-Captain way of doing things. When the rules started changing for the women too, and they no longer had to fuck every single member, including the Cabinet, to become Ladies, and instead Snake allowed Liz to weed through them and decide who left and who stayed, that was when Liz came up with the handbook. The rules of etiquette that every Lady was encouraged to follow.

She handed Tessa a copy of _Liz's Guide to Being a Proper Pagan Lady,_ then stuffed the envelope back in its hiding place and put the dresser drawer back where it belonged. "Don't tell nobody I gave ya that," she said. "The men don't know I made it, and I reckon a lot of 'em wouldn't be too happy to hear about how easy I've been makin' it for the Ladies to earn their keep." Tessa's eyes skimmed the cover, complete with a rendition of the Pagan Outlaws symbol on the front, that Liz had busted her ass to write and have copies made without Nyx finding out about it in the process.

"Your momma had the right idea about it, I suppose," she began, settling next to her on the bed. "Pagans like women like that. Women that'll fuck anything that walks. Because to a Pagan man, that's a woman's job. She cooks, she cleans, and most importantly she puts out for him. But they also keep their mouth shut, and they do as their told. And when a Pagan says jump, you say how high. That was the part your momma couldn't handle. She didn't like any man tellin' her what to do, much less a member of the Pagans. Neither did she like the idea of a Pagan bein' in charge of her money."

"Wait," Tessa began, confused. "So Pagan women are all prostitutes?"

"No," Liz chuckled, understanding how Tessa might assume that, but that wasn't necessarily the case. "No, we ain't prostitutes. There's just a certain benefit to hangin' around members. They'll give ya anything you need, long as you do what they ask ya to do. They take care of their women. Feed 'em, clothe 'em, pay their bills, all that. They just don't pay cash. If any woman wants ta get paid in cash, they gotta earn the privilege of working behind the bar at Prunty's. Then they get a cut of the tip jar at the end of the night. Like any other payin' job. But ya gotta be a Lady to work the bar."

"Oh," Tessa mumbled, eyes on the cover of the handbook. 

"But see, it used to be that girls had to be willing to be passed around from man to man whenever they wanted, before they'd get anything out of the deal. Sometimes that's still the case, and some women are just sluts that don't mind it at all, but they didn't get to choose who they ended up with, and there weren't no gettin' out of it either. Once a Pagan decided you belonged to 'em, that was it. You didn't get a say in it. This weren't no democracy, and what the Prez wanted was law." Liz sighed, then added, "And sometimes Captain liked to trade us out to folks he did business with, as an incentive to them."

"You mean, like, pimp ya out to people?"

Liz nodded. "And none of us could argue. Women like the Secretary's wife especially had it hard, on account of the man she ended up with when Captain was in charge."

"I met Dani," Tessa mentioned then. "Snake introduced us. He told me about how Knoxville treated her."

"She's a good woman," Liz said. "She didn't rightly deserve what happened to her, but Captain reasoned that what happened between a man and his wife was their business, and none of the club or any of their women should be interfering. He didn't like women havin' control of their own money either. Men like Snake and others were content to let Roxy conduct her own business at the bar, fuck non-members on the side if she wanted, and keep whatever cash she made by the end of the night, but Captain didn't take too kindly to it. So he threw her out on her ass...Of course, things are different now, but..."

"How are they different?" Tessa asked.

"Well, for starters, this life is a choice. Ain't nobody is gonna hold ya down and make ya do it. Long as you don't ever go runnin' your mouth about the club's business, ain't nobody is gonna make ya stay. You can come and go as ya please. And women have a lot more privileges than they used to. Help available if they get themselves in a bad situation. The right to defend themselves against their husband if they have to. If they fuck anybody, it's willingly. Ain't nobody's gonna hold a gun to their head. And ain't nobody is gonna threaten 'em if they want out."

Tessa nodded at all that, then asked, "So if I wanted to be a Lady, I'd have to put out for 'em, like Candice did?"

Liz chuckled. 

"No, baby doll. I reckon you only gotta worry about Billy anyhow." She pointed to the handbook. "But this here is a how to on bein' a hang-around, if you like that kind of thing, and ya ain't already got one of 'em interested in keepin' you around and you're lookin' to get your start. Some girls like havin' the men take care of 'em, but don't wanna have to settle down and be somebody's Property, and this'll teach ya how to keep 'em happy if ya just wanna fuck on the side. It's also got the know-how on proper Lady etiquette, how to behave in front of the members and the other Ladies."

She patted Tessa's knee, trusting the book was in good hands. "You just hold onto that, and give it a look when you get the chance," she added.

"Alright," Tessa nodded, clutching the book tightly to her chest.

They left the bedroom together, and reentered the kitchen just as the men were returning from where they'd been smoking a joint down in the garage, so Tessa quickly stuffed the handbook in her purse and zipped it closed before either could see it. Liz smirked and gave her a wink. Billy plopped back down in the seat he'd taken when they first arrived, and once more he pulled Tessa into his lap, kissing her on the cheek and making her smile in the process. The way that man looked at that girl could only tell Liz one thing. He was head over heels in love with her, and would fight tooth and nail to keep her, whether she was a Pagan Lady or not.

But if she inherited even an ounce of the spunk her mother possessed, she'd make a good one.

Liz could only hope she didn't have any of Roxy's flaws as well.


End file.
